


Where the sea sleeps

by AverageFangirl220



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Magic, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 40,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26788552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageFangirl220/pseuds/AverageFangirl220
Summary: Lee Jihoon does not remember a thing. He does not know who he is, or why he is in the middle of nowhere nor how he got there. All he knows is this: he has a feeling he should not be alive, and that the symbol on his wrist is of importance.Xu Minghao is the captain of the ship. When he comes across Jihoon, he can't just leave him there, so he saves him. Whether that is a mistake will reveal itself soon enough.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Chan | Dino, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 34
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

When he opens his eyes, his body pulls stiff on the spot. 

The first thing his eyes see is the sky, bright and blue as day. He doesn't know how he could have gotten here, but he's here. In the middle of nowhere. Well, not quite nowhere. The only thing covering him is his jacket, draped over him like a blanket. 

Sitting up, he somehow tenses even more. He’s not kidding, every muscle pulls stiff because he’s in a boat. On the ocean. The first question that pops into his head is, how on earth did he get here? Though he tries to recollect the last thing he could remember, he’s met with a blank slate; he can’t recall a thing. No matter how hard he tried to think back. No matter how silent he stayed and how much he worked at calming himself. 

When he closes his eyes, there’s nothing but pitch black. Which he knows should not be a thing. There should, at the very least, be a flicker of colour; something that popped into his head. He tries again. And again. And  _ again _ .

Nothing.

He opens his eyes again. The pitch black nothingness was far too unsettling to keep trying. He would rather see colour since he had the choice.

Scanning the boat, he doesn’t spot anything to help in moving the boat; it’s a rowboat. Still in good condition as well, which he takes as a good sign. Though, while wondering how he got here, he has to wonder how long he’s been here. Lowering his head, he notes his attire. It appears of the sort that was once a wonderful outfit made of fine material. Now, it was tattered and torn all over the place. He must look like someone who has just arrived from battle. 

A deep sigh passes through his lips. Lifting a hand to his hair, he tugs lightly as he tries to think of something to do other than sit around and stare. It would help if he knew something; memories, his name, anything really, because then at least he would have something to focus on. He’s not even sure of the approximate time much less how much time has passed since he woke up.

Casting his eyes out to the ocean, he spots something in the distance; he can’t make it out, but at the very least, he’s almost entirely sure it’s heading his way.

Don’t stand up in the boat, he reminds himself. The simple reminder brings about an odd sensation that he’s unable to place. Almost as if he’s heard those words from someone before and somehow, he was relaying it to himself. Though there’s no voice to the words other than his own, so for all he knows, he could be wrong. 

Another sigh escapes him. He’s nervous. Not quite sure what sort of people the ocean had to offer, he worried whether the upcoming ship (he was able to make out as it slowly starts getting closer) was filled with good or bad people. He inhales sharply, folds his hands together tightly and waits.

The light of day slowly turns darker until night time descends. By then, the ship has gotten so much closer that he can hear someone shouting, and it’s huge. He can’t recall ever seeing a ship, but even he can tell that it’s big. The sails of the ship has a sort of sign on it, painted in white on the black material. There’s a person at the very top, feet on the platform and hands keeping him from falling as he hangs along the tower like part of the ship. 

It’s right in front of him now and all he can do is stare. 

A male steps forward where he imagines the way onto the ship is as it’s lower than the rest of it on either side. 

“Ahoy,” he says, his voice so light and faintly accented. Without a closer look, he can’t actually see him. “What are you doing down there?” 

He can’t tell if the guy is serious or not. His throat feels dry, all of a sudden and he’s not sure whether to speak or remain silent.

“Are you off somewhere?” the guy asks again. “Why are you so far out in a rowboat?”

“I am not — ”

“You might need to be a bit louder,” the guy interrupts.

He tries again. “I am not sure how to answer your questions.” 

“And why is that?” It’s a different voice speaking this time, diverting his gaze over to the man at the top platform with, from what he can tell, a rather large hat much too big for him. 

“I do not know how I’ve gotten here,” he replies. “I seem to have no recollection of anything prior to waking up on this boat.” 

There’s an intense moment of silence. He can make out a murmur of voices over the sound of the ocean breeze and he’s freezing; shivering as he waits for one of them to say something.

The guy disappears from his line of sight and a second later, a ladder is draped over the area where he stood just now. The guy reappears, his arm gesturing. “Climb up.”

“How?”

“Can you not row over?”

“There were no oars,” he replies timidly, embarrassed. Here he was speaking with men on a huge ship and he’s not even sure where the oars to his little boat is. There’s a scoffing sound.

“Swim over,” the guy says. “You can swim, right?”

Just as the question is asked, he finds it odd that that thought had never occurred to him. However, he wasn’t sure whether he could or not anyway. Though with the tension in the air and the amusement in the guy’s voice, he wanted to try. He was going to try and hopefully prove to this guy that he could swim. It would wash away the embarrassment. Rather than dignifying the question with a response, he sucks in a breath and dives into the water.

And, yeah he’s screwed. Underwater is fine; the movement toward the ship is easy. It’s pure darkness when he opens his eyes and then he’s pulled up above the water and he’s choking.

He can’t swim. Of course he can’t. 

He tries moving, but despite how calm the waters appeared in his boat, actually being in the water is rough; the waters are angry and uneven and the next thing he knows, he’s being pulled down beneath the water before he can suck in a breath. His body is useless; legs and arms frantically trying to move him and failing. 

He wonders if they’ll let him drown; wonders what they’re thinking after witnessing this scene. 

He can certainly say he’s more embarrassed than he was on the boat. He could deal with the oars, but this felt much worse. A sinking feeling in his chest, engulfing him and gripping at him. 

Something encircles his waist, causing a surge of panic that has him sucking in a mouthful of water against his will. Realizing that it’s an arm, he relaxes, hand curling around the wrist of the person and holding onto it, careful not to add too much pressure. He’s being tugged along with the person until they’re both above the water and he’s being eased onto the rope ladder.

All the while, he’s a coughing mess. He loses his grip, but one of the people on the ship is faster, gripping onto his hand firmly while the person below him has a hand on the lower of his back, continuing to ease him and being ready to support him if he needed it again. 

In two pulls, he’s on the ship, knees landing harshly onto the wooden floorboards of the deck and hands pressing into it to keep him upright.

“Is he alright?” the person speaks from behind and he now recognises it as the guy he spoke to; the one who had asked him all those questions. 

“He must have swallowed some of the water.” One of the guy’s by his side speaks, his voice giving off the impression that he’s younger than the two guys he’d spoken to. There’s a hand on his back, rubbing constant circles. 

“Take him to the medbay,” the first guy says again. “Make sure he’s alright. I’ll be there shortly.” 

With that being said, the hand on his back slides to his arm and they’re helping him to his feet. He doesn’t open his eyes until they start walking, though with how blurry his vision is, he has no other option but to trust the person leading him. 

“There’s a step here,” the person informs him gently. “Down. Small steps.” 

He follows the guidance of the person. There are a few times where he almost loses his footing if not for the person helping him; they go down and then they’re walking straight after he’s assured there are no more steps and soon enough, they come to a stop. A door creaks open and he’s being led into what he assumes to be a room as the next thing he knows, he’s seated on what feels like a bed.

It’s one of the most welcoming feelings he’s had all day.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

“Have a sip of this,” they say, and his hand is wrapping around what feels like a glass. “It’ll help with the coughing. Did you swallow a lot of water?”

Doing as told, he takes a moment to process the question and he nods. “A mouth—” He stops to clear his throat, which feels irritable. “A mouthful.”

“Alright,” he pauses. “I’m going to treat you, okay?”

“Okay,” he murmurs. When he opens his eyes again, his once blurry vision starts to settle and he’s able to make out everything around him. The room, or as he recalls the guy from before calling it, the medbay, is smaller than he imagined. There are only two beds; the one he’s sitting on and another one on the other side of the room. Both are separated by an almost built in cabinet.

The person in front of him is draped in a similar attire that he could make out on the guy from before. A loose button up shirt with what looks like a scarf tied around his waist. He, however, doesn’t have a large cap on like the guy from the high platform and he has this jet black hair that’s slicked out of his face.

He joins his side as he rolls out an appropriate amount of white bandage material. “Hand please.” He starts wrapping it around his wrist. “I’m Chan, by the way. Everyone calls me Dino, though.”

“Dino?” he queries, finding the nickname a little odd, but more than anything else, he finds it interesting.

“Yeah,” Chan replies sheepishly. His cheeks are flushed, though whether that’s from the way the wind beat at them outside or that he’s embarrassed, he’s not sure. “I joined the crew when I was really young and they asked if I wanted a code name or if I’d go by my actual name.” He’s just talking, and he definitely appears as young as his voice gave way. His eyes constantly flicker between his face and the bandage as he wraps it. “I gave them that and now it’s what I go by.”

Tying the bandage, he stands up and his eyes scrutinize him. “I’ll speak to Captain about getting you a change of clothing. Otherwise, do you have any other wounds? Are you hurt anywhere?”

With a shake of his head, he looks away. “I do not think so,” he murmurs. “Though there is a pain across my shoulder,” he admits and the thing is, he wasn’t planning to. He wanted to ignore the pain and not use up much of Dino’s time, but there was this soft, welcoming and open atmosphere that had him speaking without really thinking.

Worry creases Dino’s forehead. “Turn around. Let me take a look.”

Obediently, he does as told and a second later, there’s a hiss. “What the hell happened?” Dino murmurs and he starts dabbing at the shoulder eliciting hisses on his part. Whatever it was, it burnt like hell. Horrible; absolutely terrible and he just wanted the pain to go away.

A moment later, something cold is placed against his shoulder and he can’t help but feel relieved.

“Does that feel better?”

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “Thank you.”

“Do you really not remember how you got on the boat?” he queries, though despite this being Dino’s question, there was a hint of another question in his tone. He couldn’t decipher it.

“No. I cannot recall anything prior to when I woke there.”

“Your shoulder was pretty banged up,” Dino explains then, stepping into his line of sight and brows pulling together. “Curious whether you knew why. It looks as though you were injured, but with what or how it occurred, I can’t say for sure.” With that being said, he steps out, excusing himself in a faint murmur as the door closes behind him.

Assuming he’s expected to wait, he takes a look around the room. It is smaller than he imagined. Just enough space to take two people standing. Four if two of those people were lying down on the beds. There’s a little window above the cabinet between the beds with a faint few of the night sky. It’s dark and he spots the moon, curved like a crescent. He’s so immersed in the sight that when the door opens, he startles.

“Sorry,” the guy says. It’s the one who spoke to him first. He shuts the door and steps inside, expression set in a frown that doesn’t seem to be wavering. It gives off a permanent impression. “I’m Minghao. The captain of this ship.”

“It is nice to meet you,” he says for lack of better words. He eyes him up and down and really, he can barely imagine the man in front of him to be a captain. He had an appearance that, by first look, one would guess he’s a first mate or cabin boy and—yeah, he isn’t sure how he knows those terms. Somehow, they popped into his mind, but as far as he was aware, he had never once interacted with pirates. Yet he sensed that was what they were.

“Do you have a name?”

“Most likely,” he starts, averting his gaze when Minghao tries to meet his eyes. “Though I cannot recall it.”

“Who are you?”

“I have already said, I do not know.”

“So you don’t remember your name?”

“I do not remember anything,” he replies. Minghao’s eyes light up briefly, a bemused look crossing his face that has him feeling a sudden wave of insecurity. Was what he said really that funny? Was it the way he looked?

“What?” he queries without thinking. “What are you thinking?”

“You speak so formally,” Minghao explains. “You must be from a higher class or something,” he notes. His tone is light, but the look in his eye at the mere mention of such a class holds so much resentment that he has to look away again. “So, I’ve discussed it with the crew and we’ve made a mutual decision.”

“With regards to?”

“We’ll take you in, just until we’re able to figure out how to help you.” He pauses, shifting his stance so that he’s leaning against the cabinet. He fears it may break, just with how old the wood appeared; he genuinely did not believe it could hold against Minghao’s weight. Yet, it seemed to, so he remained quiet, listening.

“We need a watchleader,” Minghao says.

His face scrunches. The word was unfamiliar to his ears; he didn’t recognise it and, when nothing popped into his head, he guessed he would not have known about it before either.

“A person at the top. Keep watch for us while we stay on deck or below.”

“I thought somebody already did that.”

“Ah.” Minghao shakes his head. “He just checks now and again. So, since we need one and since we stumbled onto you, we figured you could do it.”

Unsurely, he nods. Minghao’s lips tug at the corners, but he still has that serious expression as he stands up and starts toward the door. Glancing back, he pushes the door open.

“So, come on then. Let’s introduce you to the crew.”


	3. Chapter 3

He fiddles with his hands as he stands in front of five other guys, one of them being Dino, thankfully. It made it less nerve wracking than having to face a full set of strangers. Beside him is Minghao who, just like the others, he notes, is taller than him. He’s having to look up at all of them, and he’s not too sure how he feels about it.

While they all seem to have on similar attire, their faces all differ. On the end, beside Dino, is a guy with a darker shade of skin than the rest of them (and he must admit, it’s actually quite pretty. Like a golden brown) and he happens to be the tallest out of them. He steps forward after Minghao gives them the go ahead and he’s not sure what he expects, but it’s certainly not what passes the guy’s lips.

“Hey there. I’m Mingyu, part of the crew as you know and I’m the chef. I hope we can be friends,” he says and the way his lips curl at the corners, he can tell Mingyu is being genuine. He’s got this goofy sort of aura around him; at least compared to the others. If he had to guess the youngest between Mingyu and Dino, he’d go for Mingyu no doubt. 

“Is this really how we’re going to introduce ourselves?” the person beside Mingyu asks, face scrunching up. With his lips pulling up, it flashes his gums. 

“Do you have a better idea?” Dino interjects immediately. “Because if so, tell us. Make it more fun.”

“I was just saying,” he starts but at the hand raised in the air, he falls silent in an instant.

“Let’s just do the introductions so we can get back to work,” Minghao instructs. “Or would you prefer I just introduce you all?”

Rather than answering the question, the guy who questioned the way in which they were going about the introductions steps forward and when he smiles, he’s gums peak out again. Unlike the others, he’s got a bandana tied around his head and there’s something about him that has him wanting to listen to every word that may leave his lips. “Seungcheol, but you can call me Scoups. I’m the first mate. I look forward to working with you,” he says and the way his words roll out, almost as though he’s speaking as if in a rush, only adds to making him want to hang onto every word. 

“I’m Vernon,” the boy beside him says, lifting a hand. Calm and collected and seeming unphased by the near dispute that occurred. “I’m the navigator. I look forward to working alongside you,” he says, gaze casting over to Minghao and mouth pulling to one corner of his chin. “Can I get back to work in the meantime?” With a nod on Minghao’s part, he walks off, up the steps behind them and up another set of steps after where the ship is steered. As he does this, the others proceed on with introductions. 

“Kwon Soonyoung, but you can call me Hoshi,” the guy greets and he recognizes the voice as the one belonging to the guy that had been at the top of the watchtower. He’s got these crescent eyes that disappear into his face as he smiles. He’s the only one to hold out a hand, which after much hesitance, he accepts. Hoshi’s grip is strong and when they let go, he’s left with an odd sensation of familiarity. Though, knowing that cannot be right, he turns away as Dino greets.

“We’ve already met, sort of, but I’m Dino, the medic here on the ship. I’m also the youngest out of everyone,” he says politely, bowing his head. “I look forward to working with you, stranger.” 

“Now that that’s settled, everyone get back to your posts,” Minghao’s voice, while soft, takes on a tone that is quite effective in getting everyone to scatter; he soon loses sight of one or two of them and quite frankly, he’s already forgotten a name or two. Though he’s sure if they were to present themselves in front of each other, he’d be able to pinpoint the name to the face. 

Minghao moves, head gesturing for him to follow and they’re by the watch leader post. There’s a rope ladder beside it. Minghao grabs onto it and starts climbing and all there is to do is for him to follow. And it’s high — really high and the next thing he knows, Minghao is jumping over onto the platform and turning around to look at him. “Jump,” he says and it's odd. Odd how just those words have him so willing to do it; no extra coercion needed. Odd how, while thinking this, he’s body is already moving; he’s already jumped and for a moment, he loses his footing, but then Minghao grabs hold of his arm and tugs him forward until he’s steady on his feet. “Careful,” Minghao says and when he looks up, his lips are tugging up in amusement.

“Thank you,” he says hesitantly, eyes shifting over to the telescope-like device. It’s looking out onto the sea which is calm compared to when he was drowning in it. 

“This is adjustable.” Minghao’s hands curl around the slimmer part of the device and he moves it a little to the left. “You can see anything within a certain distance. So, you’ll keep watch of the seas and inform us of anything approaching,” he says.

“So what if it only looks as though it is coming toward us?” he queries, lifting his head to meet Minghao’s gaze. Minghao who still hasn’t looked away from him after turning away from the telescope device, furrows his brow.

“You’ll still inform us. So we can be prepared in the event it is heading toward us.” He steps to the edge of the platform and glances over. “Better prepared than living regretfully, I say.” With that, his lips curl at the corners until an odd smile is decorating his face, and then he promises to check how it’s going (or send one of the others to) in the next few hours. Minghao leaps off, hands catching the ladder effortlessly and he’s left watching as he climbs down. There’s a faint murmur as one of the others approaches Minghao and they walk to the wheel of the ship. 

Turning around, he makes himself comfortable, leaning forward to take a look into the telescope, and wondering just what he’s signed himself up for.


	4. Chapter 4

Somebody shakes him awake.

When he opens his eyes, he comes face to face with the captain who towers over him, the pale moonlight shining hitting him in such a way that he seems to stand out even more in the darkness. 

“Come on,” Minghao says, standing up. He offers a hand and, when he confirms he’s steady on his feet, he jumps over, catching onto the ladder. Instead of climbing down like he did hours ago, he shifts to the side and then looks over. It takes him a moment to realize that Minghao was waiting for him and when he does realize this, he jumps. 

His hands grip the ladder firmly, one leg dangling. Despite this, he’s a little proud of himself for not falling down onto the deck, what with the luck he’s had since encountering the ship. He can feel Minghao’s hand on his upper arm, as if to assure that if something happens, he’ll catch him. 

They climb down together. The deck is completely empty, and as he follows Minghao, he realizes that they’re going down the way he’d gone with Dino to the medbay. Except they turn the other way and go down another set of steps, the faint noise of chatter getting louder the closer they go.

“Hey, stranger!” The tall guy greets from across the room. He’s got a spatula in his hand and a grin so wide, it’s impossible to look away. “Come in! Have a seat!” he’s talking over the chatter and it’s not until he turns that he realizes Minghao has already taken a seat between two crewmates on the one side of the table. He approaches stiffly, unsure of where to take a seat. 

A hand curls around his arm and tugs him down. Looking up, he recognizes the navigator’s face first. It takes a moment for the name to click and by then, Vernon has already looked away.

“You can sit by us,” Hoshi says. He remembers his nickname without fail. The actual name is what he’s forgotten. “Mingyu prefers sitting by the captain anyway.” 

“You remember nothing?” He doesn’t catch who speaks, but his gaze flickers over to the first mate who stares quietly, a cup in hand. His face is flushed and his expression is firm and the person that speaks next.

“Do you have a name?”

“I do not know,” he replies after a moment. There’s a faint whirr of annoyance with the constant need to inform them that he had no memories whatsoever. Turning his head, his eyes fall onto the large cup being handed over to him by Vernon. He accepts it without hesitation, chugging it down.

Only to place it down, coughing and spluttering.

A chorus of laughter echoes around him, though he chooses to ignore, keeping his head down. It’s the next chuckle that joins in that has him looking up at a grinning Vernon.

“Sorry,” he says. “Should have told you that was beer.”

“This is beer?” he queries in disbelief. He hates the taste; it’s terrible, strong and has the worst kick to it. 

“You get used to the taste,” Scoups affirms, pouring the cup full. He makes a face before chugging it down. 

And spluttering again. Naturally.

“Hell,” someone says. He doesn’t catch who. With the way they’re all talking and the odd, buzzed feeling hitting his head, he couldn’t really keep up. Though it’s Vernon who has a hand on his shoulder. So maybe it’s him speaking. “Your face is  _ red _ ,” he emphasizes. 

“He looks woozy,” Minghao comments. There’s a murmur between the others and he’s cup is topped up again.

“Woozi,” Vernon states. Everyone is looking over at them and when he looks up at the navigator, he’s got this wide gummy smile. “That’s what we’ll call you. Woozi.”

His and Minghao’s gazes lock and he’s lifting a brow. “Can’t handle your alcohol?” he asks. 

“S’pose not,” he slurs softly. He looks away, unable to hold Minghao’s gaze any longer and instead looks the other way only for Scoups to lift his cup. Minghao follows and soon, they’re all doing it. Even Mingyu comes over and grabs a cup and joins in.

“A name to a face,” Minghao says. “Welcome to the crew.”

It’s after supper when he joins Mingyu in cleaning up. The others have gone off to their respective stations so it’s just the two of them. For the first few minutes, there’s a dragging pause. Which Mingyu takes care of.

“You don’t need to help me,” he says abruptly.

“I do not mind,” he assures and watches the way Mingyu’s face morphs into a look of appreciation. Rather than saying anything, he turns away and grabs some of the dishes on the table.

“So, Woozi, huh? Do you like it?”

“Perhaps. I suppose I could grow used to it,” he admits. The conversation ends there and the rest of the time is spent in silence until Mingyu excuses himself to take a nap and he goes on up to the deck. 

He thinks about it. Seriously thinks about it and how he could grow an attachment. After all, it’s not that bad of a name. Frankly, having a name to himself was better than having the crew be unsure of how to address him. His lips quirk, though he shakes it off and climbs up to his own station. 

Minghao is already there, staring out at the ocean. Though at the sound of Woozi landing, he whips around. 

“What are you doing up here?” he queries, taking a seat beside him and following his gaze. A blanket is draped over his legs; it’s not all that big and the colour has faded so much so that he cannot quite be sure of what the actual colour is. Pulling it up around him, he releases a soft exhale, ready to thank him before he’s interrupted.

“You know what to do right?”

“Alert you if I see anything,” he replies smoothly without missing a beat. 

“Exactly.”

His brow crinkles. “Why was this position open?” he murmurs into the growing silence around them.

“It always has been,” Minghao states, a distant look in his eyes. “For as long as I can remember. Even before it was handed over to me and there was just never a need to fill it. Hoshi managed alright switching between his position and this one.”

“Until now?”

Minghao stands up. “You showed up. We had a position open. That’s all there is to it,” he says. With a final look his way, he jumps over and disappears down the ladder and Woozi is left in the breezy silence once again.

He figures it’s something he’ll need to get used to. Though it’s so much better than being stranded on that boat alone. He can admit that, at the very least. 


	5. Chapter 5

They stop the ship when they see land. 

He watches in silent amusement as the entirety of the crew rush around, lowering sails and throwing out the anchor. It’s not as easy as he would have assumed.

“You and Hoshi stay here,” Minghao calls before disappearing off the side of the ship. The rest of the crew follow after, one of them reassuring them that they’ll bring something for the two. 

The silence is odd, considering. From his position, he can see the entire deck. When he first discovered this, when needing to take a break from looking at the ocean, he would turn around and observe the crew from here. It was oddly satisfying at times, and somewhat discovering. For instance, he made note of the close proximity between Scoups and Dino ninety percent of the time. While right now, which is completely empty save for Hoshi who is making his way across the deck and yeah, he’s clearly more used to climbing up than Woozi because not only does he do it more smoothly than he would expect anyone to, but he’s up in the blink of an eye.

“Mind if I join you?” he queries, though he’s already taking a seat. 

“Did you ever get lonely up here?” Woozi dares to question. It’s a genuine question that popped into his mind over the course of the few days that he’s known them. It’s mostly because while he’s up here alone all the time, he doesn’t feel lonely. Not once. So, of course he couldn’t help but ask. 

Hoshi looks at him for a moment with an unreadable expression, though in the next second, a smile is curling across his face. “Not really,” he admits, looking out onto the ocean. “I haven’t been part of the crew for as long as everyone else. Even so, lonely is one thing I’ve never felt around here.”

Hoshi stands up, looking into the telescope. Today, he hasn’t got a large hat on, so Woozi actually gets a sight of the exceptionally blonde hair on his head, moving with the faint breeze, and somehow, even though nothing is said, the atmosphere is calming. He half expected it to be awkward considering he hardly knew him, but Hoshi has this atmosphere around him that makes someone want to relax. It was just that comforting. As not to fall asleep, Woozi chooses to spike up a conversation.

“So, why do all of them have to go?” he queries. 

He can already hear the grin in Hoshi’s voice from the first syllable. “They all go into town for a specific reason,” he says, stepping away from the telescope and swinging himself around to face him. “Dino’s the medic, so naturally he goes into town for new supplies. Any chance he can. Rather have too much than a crisis happen only to find out there’s nothing to help, you know?”

He nods, because he thinks he may know, and because he wants Hoshi to continue talking. Though the look on Hoshi’s face says he’s just thought of something better than simply telling him.

“Mingyu.”

Woozi’s face scrunches in confusion. He turns around, eyes scanning the deck before he’s turning back to Hoshi, the confusion morphing into an expression of curiosity; brows pinched together, cheeks pulling up and his head tilting. Hoshi chuckles at this, and it’s the sort of chuckle that has Woozi wanting to smile. It’s light and gentle, if that was even possible.

“Try and guess why he goes into town,” he says, like it should be obvious. Which it should. He has no clue why that hadn’t occurred to him. Though he brushes it off quickly enough and looks at Hoshi.

“Cooking ingredients?”

“Lucky guess,” he replies with a roll of his eyes. “Alright. Vernon.”

This time he pauses. He tries recollecting the introductory moments as well as the supper they had just the other night (because that night, they used their names more often than he thinks they would had he not been there.) It takes him a moment longer before he eventually responds. “He is the navigator, correct?” When Hoshi nods, he proceeds on. “Something regarding maps?” It’s more of a suggestion than an answer, but judging from Hoshi’s expression, he knows that he’s correct. He looks displeased, like he’s just been caught out in something which clearly was unexpected.

“Yeah,” he says. “He goes into town in search of any new maps. They’re always updating.” he explains, lips curling up, nodding his head in a gesture that goes completely over Woozi’s head. “Minghao.”

“I am not too sure about this one,” he admits after having processed it for a good few minutes. He cannot think of a reason for a captain to go into a town other than for supplies the others may not get, though the moment he asked that, Hoshi shot it down.

“He goes in to get any news we may have missed while out in the ocean. There are particular, designated bars and inns where he has connections. Only him too. Once they almost got my head because I went in place of him.” 

“Though clearly you kept it,” he notes aloud.

Hoshi’s lips quirk. “I had to prove myself.” 

Just as Woozi is about to ask, he diverts the topic. “Scoups.”

“Well, I barely understand what a first mate is, so I cannot guess this one,” he responds softly into the brief moment of silence. He really can’t and he didn’t feel much for being guessing when he couldn’t understand the concept of the first mate.

“Fair enough,” he chuckles. “He goes into town for the supplies that everyone else is too busy to get. Plus, he likes grabbing a souvenir from every town.”

“Sounds fun.”

“He enjoys it.” Hoshi shrugs. “Especially with how very little we’re able to revisit a town or city.”

“How often do you get to revisit a place?”

“Very rarely. You see, we’re pirates, so the world views us as criminals. To them, we’re nothing but this group of uneducated, no good, sea thugs.”

“So that affects your revisitations to certain places?”

“Well, yeah,” he murmurs, an unreadable expression crossing his face. “We carry the name pirates. Right down to the bloodline for some of us. We’re wanted by half the world just because of their assumptions.”

“That’s terrible — ”

An exclaim interrupts him, followed by a series of yells and a mixture of voices, which he can distinctly make out are instructions being thrown into the air. They’re on their feet in seconds in time to catch the crew running over. Still a ways behind them are men dressed head to toe in a uniform that sends a jolt through his body. He’s barely managed to process the situation by the time Hoshi is on the deck and working on the sails. Rather than allowing himself to overthink it, Woozi hurries down to help. 

“Hoshi, go, go, go!” It’s Minghao yelling. He’s still not on deck yet; he’s helping the others get on. 

Vernon and Dino are already on deck, pulling up the anchor. The others are still getting on; Mingyu’s got his hands on the board which he lifts the moment Minghao has gotten onboard. There’s a series of heavy breathing and then, the sound of something going off—a gun—startling Woozi who takes a step back, bumping into one of the pillars, and he starts folding his hands together, trying to remain calm. Though that’s certainly a difficult task given all the commotion.

His gaze flickers over to Dino who has pulled himself together just enough to approach the captain. “Minghao-hyung, are you hurt?” he queries, concern flickering across his face briefly. Though there’s a semi-distracted look in his eye.

“I’m fine,” Minghao insists. “Are the others okay?” 

The relief that washes over Dino’s expression is something he’s almost sure he’s not imagined and though he has already responded with a quick ‘yes sir’, he’s approached Scoups who looks at him with a soft and relieved expression. One of them has a hand on the other’s cheek and there’s the soft exchange of words between them which Woozi is unable to make out given the distance between the three of them.

Finally mustering up enough courage to speak again, he asks, “What happened?”

“Informants turned,” Minghao says between his teeth and even Woozi can tell that he’s absolutely seething. “Tried capturing us and handing us over.”

It seems to be only him that’s confused. While he’s trying to figure out who they wished to hand the crew over to, everyone else has a grim expression on their faces. He wants to understand, so he pushes away the concern of looking stupid and speaks up. “Hand you over to whom?”

Vernon scoffs. He’s on the floor, pressed up against one side of the ship and lowering his hand from his hair. “Who else?” he queries, looking Woozi dead in the eye as a bitter smile forms. “The palace. The king and queen themselves.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Why would the king and queen wish for your capture?”

The moment he asks this, he’s already regretting it. The way everyone’s heads whip around, he knows he shouldn’t have asked such a question. He half expects Minghao to say something, but it’s Vernon who steps forward, narrowing his eyes.

“You’re not one of those people, are you?” He closes the gap between them, until they’re inches apart and Woozi can feel his breath against his face. “Like the ones in town, or like the king and queen. The sort who see pirates as criminals. Right?”

He doesn’t have to think twice about it before responding. “No,” he says firmly. “Whether I have met pirates before or not, I may recall. However, I trust my gut which tells me that all of you are genuine. You are all trustworthy. So, no. I would not believe that any of you are criminals. Not even by word of mouth.”

Vernon’s eyes are wide, clearly not having expected this. His lips part, but no sound escapes, but even so, Woozi’s expression does not shift. He stares sternly at Vernon, unwavered by the other’s reaction and especially unwavered by the sudden silence that bestowed itself upon the ship. The crew is so silent for the briefest of moments and it’s not until a burst of laughter disrupts it that he and Vernon break their stares to look at Minghao whose laugh, he decides, is the sort that suits his voice. Unlike other laughters, this particular one seemed to match perfectly well with his voice. It was dorky, if he had to put an exact term to it, and yet at the same time, so completely light and airy and one you would expect to hear after a good dad joke has been told.

“Well, he got you there,” Minghao says, voice still quivering with laughter.

From his position, he can faintly note the way Vernon’s expression relaxes. When he turns around, Woozi flinches without really meaning to. He doesn’t know what to expect, but it’s certainly not the next words that leave his lips.

“Maybe you’re not _so_ bad, then.” With those words hanging in the air, Vernon steps away, walking up to the top deck and walking into a room Woozi often noted Minghao disappearing into. He’s not sure what to make of the situation, although he’s almost certain that those words were the closest thing to a compliment he would ever get from Vernon.

When he turns around, the rest of the crew seem to pull themselves back to reality, dispersing to their positions. The atmosphere, however, has shifted since the first time he stepped onto the ship, and he suspects it’s the way they view him. Clearly, his words have had an affect on them. Which stirs up a warm feeling in his chest, despite it not being his intentions. What he said had been purely genuine.

Minghao and he share a look to which he responds with a nod of his head before he turns around and makes his way up to his position.

Hoshi looks up at him with a half-grin across his face. This time, he doesn’t question it, but rather steps over him and takes a look into the telescope.

“Do they hate the palace that much?” He barely recognises his own voice. He’s not entirely sure why. Why he can’t recognise his voice, that suddenly filled itself with so much emotion in that one sentence, nor as to why there was this feeling in his chest, like he’d just been punched and the lingering of that action coursed through him. When Hoshi doesn’t say anything, he looks over. There’s this uncertainty in his gaze, but when their eyes meet, that uncertainty disappears and, with a reluctant sigh, Hoshi speaks.

“Not the palace per se. Just the bloodline.” He pauses, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head as he tries to find a way to put it. “The king and queen are the ones who brought upon a bad name for all pirates.”

“How?” He shoots, almost immediately. “Why would they do that?”

“They had one bad experience and they based it off of that.”

A loud screech echoes abruptly, drawing attention away from the conversation and to the deck where Minghao stands at the wheel, a whistle between his lips and a serious look across his face. He doesn’t say anything at first, though when he removes the whistle, he takes a glance around to ensure everyone is paying attention, and then he starts.

“Our next destination is one of the islands nearby. We have a delivery request,” he explains.

“Do we know what they want us to deliver?” Scoups asks from his position a little ways behind Minghao.

“Unfortunately not. We find out when we get there. Otherwise, it’s a two day trip.”

“And we’ll have enough to last us until then?” Without looking, Minghao nods. He seems to know that it’s Dino who has spoken. “Yes. I’ve checked and we have enough to get us through the next two days. However, let’s ration everything as we don’t know whether we’ll be able to restock in the next town.”

“May I ask what it is that you all do?” He asks aloud, ensuring he’s voice is audible enough so that everyone is able to hear. “Seeing as you carry the pirate name.”

“We do trades,’ Minghao replies smoothly. “Unlike most pirates, we avoid all the illegal stuff. We’re more of an express delivery. So people use us to get their goods delivered faster since other cargo ships go to more than one stop,” he explains, eyebrow quirking as if he’s daring Woozi to comment on that.

He doesn’t. Instead, he follows up with another question. “Why pirates then?”

Minghao smiles bitterly. “Before we delivered cargo, we were ocean thieves. We never stole from towns, but people heard of us by word of mouth.”

He’s not sure what that means, though before he can ask, Vernon steps out onto deck, a stiff, unreadable expression across his face as he proceeds on. “Meaning that somewhere along the line, things got twisted. We were accountable for more than what we actually did, and before we knew it, we were wanted.” Even his tone is bitter. He’s clearly displeased with the memory.

“The most wanted,” Minghao states. “We went to the palace in search of justice, but we didn’t get that. They took one look at us and called the guards.”

“The one guard was cute though,” Mingyu says into the tensioned air, lips pouting.

Scoups rolls his eyes. “Will you ever let that go? They almost got us arrested.”

“But they didn’t!” Mingyu retorts almost immediately.

Woozi, having processed all of this, furrows his brows. “And your families?” he queries, purely out of curiosity. However, the question instantly brings the tension back into the air.

Minghao claps his hands together. “Who’s hungry?”

He frowns, watching as everyone instantly makes their way to the lower deck, his question being completely ignored, and he can't help wondering why. 


	7. Chapter 7

Woozi stays where he’s positioned. He wasn’t all that hungry, so he politely declined the invitation to join them for something to eat. Politely declining Hoshi’s constant attempt to change his mind and have him agree to join.

He doesn’t recall dozing off, but the next thing he knows, he’s being nudged. Eyes opening, he stares straight ahead for a moment, looking at the sky which he notes has taken on a particularly darker colour. The skies have darkened gradually, looking all furious and angry. Clouds hover over, and he wonders if it will start to rain. Just as quickly, he catches himself and lifts his head to look up at the culprit of his waking.

Minghao looks down at him, his long smirk curving along his face. “I don’t think you should be falling asleep up here.”

“I am meant to keep watch,” he states simply, unable to find any other words to respond with. The way Minghao watches him as he speaks has an odd feeling fluttering in his chest. The way his face turns into something resembling judgement, though Woozi is almost one hundred percent sure that’s the last thing Minghao was doing. He knew it wasn’t plausible, to be trusting his gut that Minghao _wasn’t_ judging him, but he somehow knew it was just a look and nothing more.

“Right,” Minghao notes. “It gets chilly up here though. Do you need another blanket or anything?” he queries, his tone softening. When he shakes his head, Minghao tilts his head. “And what about a change of clothing?”

“I am fine, thank you.” He looks up only to find Minghao looking right at him. His eyes falter and while Woozi believes he’s not being judged, he does feel as if he’s being scrutinized. It’s in the air around them too, so there’s no denying this feeling. He purses his lips in a moment of consideration before nodding to nobody in particular. “Is something the matter?”

“No,” Minghao says, but he doesn’t look away. “You speak so formally,” he says again after a moment of pausing. Woozi has no time to respond as he proceeds with his explanation. “So proper.”

When he realizes that that’s where he is ending it off; realizing there’s nothing else he’s going to follow up with, he murmurs, “Is that bad?”

Scoffing, Minghao shakes his head. “It’s just unusual for someone on a pirate ship. You’re probably just from a higher class.”

“You have said that before,” he feels the need to remind. He knows he doesn’t need to, but he does. It’s gotten colder and he wonders if he should have accepted the offer for a change of clothes.

There’s not much time to ponder on it when the rain starts up. Rather than a light drizzle, it comes full on. Hard and angry drops, and the wind is picking up. They look up at the sky and everything speeds up. The next thing he knows, Minghao is cursing as he rushes down to the deck, a continuous string of curse words following behind him.

Woozi watches as he hurries over to Vernon who has made his way onto deck, map in hand. From where he stands, he can tell a serious discussion is taking place between them and while he hardly ever feels the need to know about conversations occurring between people other than himself, he really wishes he could overhear their discussion. The way Minghao’s eyebrows pull in worry and how animatedly Vernon has suddenly gotten pulls at the core of his curiosity. Considering Vernon was someone who hardly spoke with his hands and more often than not seemed really calm, he couldn’t help but wonder what has suddenly pulled out this animated, frantic side to him.

Minghao’s head whips around. He’s looking over to where Hoshi is seated.

“Keep tabs on the ship,” he says, gesturing with his hand. “Just keep tabs on it as much as possible. Check the sails, okay? We’ll figure something out.”

Hoshi doesn’t seem to need to be told twice because he’s gotten up and is hurrying toward the bow of the ship. He looks as worried as Minghao had when he caught sight of the weather.

“A storm is coming,” Minghao says abruptly after a stretch of silence. The rain is pelting and the ship is starting to sway a lot more than it usually does. He turns to Vernon, that same concerned expression across his face. “Vernon, tell me something good. Anything good.”

Vernon exhales. There’s a line of worry etched into his brow that, as much as he appears to be trying, even he can’t hide. Apart from that, he catches a twinkle in his eye. His head whips up. “There’s a town not far from here. We’ll head there for shelter. Just until the storm dies down.”

“How far is the town?” Dino asks. He’s noted that out of all of them, Dino was the one who generally asked all of the questions.

“Two hours away,” he responds immediately.

“Until then,” Minghao says, “Hold on tight guys.” The finality in his tone is what has them all turning around and heading off to their original positions. Woozi stares a moment too long, catching Minghao’s eye in the process, and there’s a moment. There’s a moment where Minghao’s lips curve and it’s not the usual wicked smiles or little smirks that he throws left, right and center. It’s soft and reassuring. Unspoken words are traded between them at that moment, Minghao’s look assuring him it will be okay. For whatever reason, he accepts it. He accepts it just like that, and he’s the first to turn away, shifting himself closer to the telescope and taking in a deep breath.

The moment is over, but the feeling in his chest remains. He starts to believe that it will be okay. They’ll make it back safely.

Of course that lasts up until the first hour.

Well into the first hour, the storm has gotten rougher. He can tell even from here how difficult it is to be sailing. Minghao’s expression doesn’t give much away, but the way the vein lifts at his temple and the way they’re raised along his arms, he can tell it’s taking everything he’s got.

“Go!” Minghao shouts. “Everyone, head to the lower deck!” There’s a strain in his voice. Woozi has no time to dwell on it as he hurries to follow through with the order. He almost slips, but manages to grip tightly onto the rope ladder and it’s a mess as he tries climbing down. It takes all of his focus not to slip and fall along the way.

“Take cover!” someone yells. He races to follow the others, but before he can, he loses his footing, slipping. He knows his elbow against the deck as he braces himself for the fall and the next thing he knows, he’s being pulled up onto the deck, an arm gripping around him securely.

Minghao’s hand rests on his head, forcing him to keep it tucked against the arm and his chest and there’s definitely no way he’s about to let go. Guilt flows through him, imagining how difficult it must be to sail and keep him there. Though every time he tries to move, he’s pulled right back.

“Sorry,” comes an apology whispered into his ear, louder than the storm if that’s even possible. “Just hang on,” he continues. “We’re almost there.”


	8. Chapter 8

There’s a little cave that they pull the ship into. Minghao says it will be harder to get it out versus being in the docks, but this way they could go by undetected. He wanted to be cautious and keep out of the guards views. Or anyone looking to force them to leave before they could. Plus, this way they were out of the rain, and after the fall, he couldn’t have gotten out of it faster. Relief would be an understatement.

Now they have to wait for Hoshi to return and inform them about any damage. Minghao insisted he go to medbay to see for any injuries, but he persisted; he would wait until they heard what Hoshi found.

“It needs repairs,” he says, climbing on board again. Wiping his hands against his pants, he lowers his head before looking back up. “Professional repairs. We’re going to need to head into town.”

Minghao looks at him, prepared to say something when Hoshi smiles. It’s an action that seems to make him second guess whatever he’s about to say, and it’s clear that while he hasn’t been on the ship as long as the others, there’s an understanding between them. An unspoken communication that occurs in that single moment.

“I’ll be back soon with more information.” That’s the last exchange of words between them before he’s making his way back off the ship. Dino turns around as soon as he’s gone, staring accusingly at Minghao.

“You’re going to let him go alone?”

Minghao barely bats an eye. “It’s safer than going with the whole lot of us,” he responds smoothly. “Especially with a more well-known face such as any of us.”

“He never really goes into town,” Vernon pipes in with a reminder. “And he hasn’t been with us as long as we’ve been together. He’s a _lot_ safer alone than with the rest of us.”

The surprise on his face morphs into something akin to understanding, his lips pressing together tightly. It’s the only hint of acknowledgement he gives way to before he’s turning around and heading down to the lower deck.

Woozi watches quietly, debating whether him saying anything would have helped. Though of course, he barely has time to dwell on it as Minghao steps over, brooding and intimidating (or at least, that’s what he thinks other people would see it as. Somehow, he barely flinches when they make eye contact alone.) He tilts his head and it takes a moment longer than it should before he realizes it’s a gesture; when Minghao starts walking, he realizes and follows diligently.

He knocks thrice on the door before Dino peaks his head out, door slightly ajar. “Sir?”

“Woozi got hurt during the storm,” he explains. He expects there to be more to follow, but that’s where it ends. Minghao leaves shortly after while Dino ushers Woozi in with extra care.

“Have a seat.”

“Are you okay?”

Dino’s head whips around, eyes wide in surprise that as much as he tries to think, he can’t understand. He doesn’t think there’s much to his question other than curiosity. They don’t exchange any words as Dino walks over and holds out a hand. Woozi places wrist in Dino’s hand and watches as the bandage is carefully unfolded.

“Scratched right through the bandage,” he notes aloud.

He takes Woozi’s hands into his own, carefully turning it over to assess any injuries that may have appeared. His eyes analyze with such focus that Woozi wonders whether this was always the idea for his profession. It’s as he’s turning it with his wrist facing upward that he stops what he’s doing. His brows are pinched together, as if for the first time noting the black mark on Woozi’s wrist.

Only it’s not a mark, but a symbol, he realizes when he follows Dino’s gaze and inspects it more closely. The last time, he hadn’t had an opportunity to look at it.

“Do you know what it is?” Woozi queries, looking up at Dino.

Shaking his head, a smile pulls across his face, but it’s not the usual smile. There seems to be something off about it that he can’t really place. Though just as quickly as this pops into his head, Dino is wrapping his wrists in bandages again. “Was there anywhere else you got injured?” he asks, already doing an analysis of his face and the rest of his arms. He cleans up the wounds on his elbow and knee from when he fell and then steps back. He scratches in one of the cupboards.

“Woozi.”

“Yes?”

Dino turns around and Woozi can’t help but freeze at his expression. He senses something in the atmosphere; there’s a sudden blast of intensity that he can’t shake off.

“Whatever you do, do not remove those bandages unless I’m the one doing it. Okay?”

When Woozi doesn’t respond immediately, Dino’s eyes narrow. “Okay, Woozi?”

“Okay,” he murmurs. He wants to ask why, but before he can so much as utter another word, Dino is shoving material into his arms. He doesn’t say anything as he steps out of the room, the door closing softly behind him.

When he walks out, Dino is smiling. “That’s a lot better than your previous outfit.”

His lips quirk. The clothing was definitely more spacious and loose than his previous outfit. The material was soft, which was even better. “It feels better as well,” he admits, allowing Dino to tug him along and lead him back out onto the deck.

“Is that mine?” Minghao asks, looking up at the two as they approach the group. He doesn’t seem upset about the possibility of it being his clothes, just curious.

“Yes, sir. I thought he could use a change of clothes.”

“I thought so too,” Minghao quips. Woozi narrows his eyes, but says nothing.

There’s a loud sound on the side of the ship that catches everyone’s attention. Everyone looks over, waiting. It’s been a while since Hoshi left, but the chances that it was him were fairly low. At least, that’s what Woozi was thinking. Taking a look around, he notes everyone’s expressions, the pure certainty in their eyes that have him second guessing his own thoughts.

Sure enough, Hoshi pops up onto the deck. He’s got this grim expression until he spots everyone else. Almost instantaneously, the grim face disappears as a smile forms.

“Good news is, we can afford it.”

“And the bad news?” Minghao presses.

Hoshi takes a moment to respond. His eyes flicker between everyone before he looks away, nodding. “Not totally bad news,” he assures. “It’s just that we’ll be staying longer than planned.”

Woozi watches the way his gaze casts over. Watches the way he shifts his weight from one foot to another and the way he tucks his hands behind his back. His expression blanks, like he’s trying to keep something. Which is exactly what Woozi notes.

“And?” Everyone looks at him as he speaks. Nobody says a word. The silence is almost deafening and just as he thinks he shouldn’t have spoken, Hoshi chuckles.

“And we can’t stay on the ship while they’re working on it.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Minghao says abruptly, standing and lifting a hand. “That’s not an option. It’s _not_.” He turns to Hoshi. “You told them that right?”

“I told them that,” he confirms. “I also told them that I would be one of the two people staying on the ship.”

“That’s fine.” Minghao nods, lowering his head as he tries to contemplate the next move. The crease along his forehead lets Woozi know this. “So, I could stay as well—”

“You are the captain,” Woozi pipes in. “You should be the last person staying on the ship and leaving the rest of the crew to fend for themselves.”

Minghao’s head whips around, eyes wide. He looks at him as if what he’s just said is preposterous. As if the mere idea is absurd. Except that everyone knows that’s the last thing the idea is. It’s accurate.

“He’s right,” Vernon murmurs.

“Then let me stay.” Everyone turns to Mingyu who looks at them innocently. “I’m not going to be much help to any of you if you’re going to be staying in an inn or anything. Hoshi can’t cook to save his life. It would be perfect.”

Hoshi grins. “Can’t argue with that logic.”

Minghao nods in agreement. “Then that settles it. Mingyu and Hoshi, you guys will stay here. I’ll go into town in the meantime. See about the inns around town and find us a place to stay.”

“Alone?”

This makes Minghao’s lips tug at the corners. “Actually, I think I’ll be taking our new addition to the crew with me.”

Everyone turns to Woozi who looks just as surprised as the rest of them. Of course, when the captain of the ship says something like that, who are any of them to argue?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We learn something new everyday. Did you know the plural for passerby is passersby and not passerbys? I learned that while writing this chapter :)   
> (if this is common knowledge then lol, sorry I'm dumb. I'm almost positive I never learned this before though but yeah.)

Minghao doesn’t speak much on their way into town. Though with the way he maneuvers his way through the crowds  _ and _ managing to ensure Woozi was keeping up had him wondering whether he’s been here before. He seemed to know the town like the back of his hand. 

Soft excuses escape him, but he’s hardly heard. 

They get to a tiny little building which is albeit much more spacious inside than he was expecting. It looks like a bar, with the counters and the seats and the way it was decorated. Glasses and drinks of various kinds line the shelves behind the counter, just beside a door. 

“Have you been here before?” he murmurs, carefully to ensure he remains unheard by any possible eavesdroppers. Minghao glances over at him. They’re standing against the bar counter, Minghao leaning in a way that has him just a little bit shorter. He’s still much taller than Woozi, but somehow he feels a little more comfortable now that they’re closer in seeing each other eye to eye. 

He purses his lips. “I haven’t stayed in this inn before — ”

“I mean the town,” he interrupts without missing a beat. “You knew your way around well enough.”

Before Minghao can have a chance to answer (or completely shut down the question), someone walks out from the door on the other side of the room and makes their way over. The girl is pretty, to say the least. Dark hair standing out against her pale skin. A stone cold expression decorates her face as she stares them down. 

“Good day,” Minghao greets. “Do you have any openings?”

She looks down, hand flipping opening a book. “Two?” she asks in a voice Woozi hadn’t expected to leave her lips. Light and gentle and completely antonymous to her expression. 

“Five,” he replies.

Her head shoots up, eyes questioning. “Five rooms or five people?” 

“Five people,” Minghao informs. “Two days.”

She turns her attention back to the book, this time keeping it there as she speaks. “In that case, we have three rooms which will cost you approximately 5790 won.” Her gaze flickers upward. “Or do you want something else”

“That sounds perfect,” Minghao interrupts. “We’ll be back around noon with the money.”

There’s a stretching silence between the two, both who appear refusing to look away first. Minghao thanks her, avoiding the use of her name which, if he recalls correctly, she hadn’t provided. He’s already to the door when Woozi turns around. “Thank you, miss,” he says politely before rushing to catch up with Minghao. 

“Having a tea party in there?” Minghao queries when Woozi steps out of the place. He’s got that smug look on his face like teasing him gave him all the satisfaction in the world. Which Woozi surely hoped was not the case.

“I was thanking her,” he murmurs, casting his gaze to the ground. He’s vaguely aware of Minghao’s light chuckle filling the air which is all he can hear, somehow, despite the crowdedness of the little town they were in. Looking up, he catches sight of a group of children running by, screeching. Large smiles light their faces as they weave their way through the crowd of people who skillfully move aside for them. No scornful gazes or curses or annoyed responses escape them. Mere adoration or simple avoidance occur on their part.

Without another word, Minghao starts walking. He strides to keep up.

“You never said whether you have been here before,” he notes softly enough that he remains unheard by any of the passersby. When Minghao’s strides increase, he has to jog to keep up. He knows it’s definitely due to the question and a part of him feels responsible; feels guilty for asking a question which elicited such a response out of him. He wishes he could take it back. It was just a genuine question of curiosity. 

“Does it matter?” he asks finally, as they exit the little town, making their way down the path in the direction of the cave where their ship is. 

“No,” he replies. “I suppose it does not. I apologize for pressing on the matter,” he says. He wants to say more, but he’s not sure  _ what  _ more he could say. He doesn’t think it’s odd that he wants to keep the conversation going. He supposes it's natural when one becomes closer to other people. Or when you spend more time around these people and sure, he and Minghao most likely had less conversations than he’s had with Hoshi, but he does think that the more the days go by, there’s more than just the guy who saved him from drowning and picked him up from a boat with no oars. Surely Woozi is more than just a stranded kid that has been saved.

When they reach the ship, Mingyu calls out their arrival. He’s on the rope ladder, looking as if he’s clutching on for dear life.

Minghao holds out a hand, gripping Woozi’s and pulling him up onto the deck swiftly and easily. Almost immediately after, he makes his way over to where Mingyu is and watches as he assists the tall pole of a man down and he’s certainly surprised when he notices the way he’s shaking in his feet. He looks as though he’s just the worst thing one could possibly imagine; as if he’s just come out of a battle against his deepest fear.

“He’s terrified of heights,” Vernon says from beside him. He hadn’t even realized that he was there until he spoke. “Went up determined to conquer his fear so he could be useful to Soonyoung in more ways than just being a cook,” he explains. He’s leaning closely as he murmurs this into Woozi’s ear and while he was never fond of laughing at others, he couldn’t stop the snicker that escapes him.

Of course this gains the others attention. 

“Well, well, well,” Minghao says, a little smirk decorating his faze as smugly as ever. “Seems he  _ can _ do more than blankly stare at everyone.”

“That,” Vernon says, “Was the cutest thing ever.”

Flushing, he turns away without a second thought. He wasn’t used to this; having all of them look at him in the same way and truth be told, he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. He didn’t know whether it required a response and if it did, how on earth would he respond to that? He wasn’t sure why his face heated up the way that it did either. He wanted to leave. Curl up and hide away until his cheeks stopped flaring and he could contain himself. Which of course was not a plan, so instead, he straightens himself. Clearing his throat, he turns around and while he faces the group, he’s sure not to make direct eye contact.

He relays the information; how much it will cost for the three rooms and when they said they would go over there with the money. Their faces are something he doesn’t expect; their once cheerful expressions morph into something resembling horror. Their faces were, for lack of a better word, grim.

“Do we have that kind of cash?” Dino queries softly when nobody says a word. Minghao looks at him and then turns to the rest of them. 

“Whether we do or not, we have no choice,” Minghao says sternly. “It’s the only option we have.”

“We do,” Scoups pipes in. “Just barely,” he admits, looking at Minghao in a way that says he should call it. He should confirm if they could really afford to be doing this or not.

“Enough is enough,” Minghao says. “We can always obtain that money again. As soon as the ship is fixed, we’ll be out of here and making that delivery.”

“I thought you wished to see what they were delivering before making any decisions,” Woozi states, a little confused at the sudden change of mind. It seems it's just him though. While they too did not know the reason behind his change of mind, they seemed unquestioning and of course he understood  _ that  _ at the very least. Minghao was their captain and the captain’s decisions would be trusted without question. So why was he questioning this decision?

“It pays twice the amount we’ll be spending,” he explains. “No way am I letting that go.” 

With a clap of his hands, the crew assembles.

“We’ll meet right back here,” Minghao says with such certainty and conviction that it has everyone believing it. They’ve formed a circle with their little number and as he speaks, Minghao places his hand in the middle. Everyone else does the same except for Woozi who stares quietly, unsure of what was happening.

“It’s like a promise without words,” Vernon tells him, whispering into his right ear. “That we’ll meet up again.”

“Whenever we have to separate for more than twelve hours, we do this,” Hoshi whispers into his left.

“Woozi?” It’s Minghao this time, looking at him from across the circle.

This time, he doesn’t hesitate putting his hand in the middle. Their thumbs are tucked into the next person’s hand and there’s a soft but powerful exclamation from Minghao as he says something Woozi doesn’t quite catch. When they step away from the circle, Minghao and Soonyoung disappear into the room to get the money. 

“Look at it this way,” Vernon starts, turning to him with a toothy grin he’s definitely not used to. “You can catch a bit of a break from up there without feeling guilty.”

He wonders if that’s the way Vernon feels about his own position, though he doesn’t ask. Just smiles as if to agree, though he’s not sure he does. 


	10. Chapter 10

"Will they be okay by themselves?" Dino queries on their way into town. He walks shoulder to shoulder with Scoups who doesn't seem to mind this. In fact, there's the smallest of smiles on his face every chance he has to glance at Dino.

"They'll be okay," Minghao assures. "Mingyu can fend for himself. Hoshi can fend for the both of them if the need arises." He's walking a little ahead of the group. He's got his head held high and his shoulders back, walking with such confidence that, if he were dressed any more formally, he could be mistaken for someone of high class.

The nice thing about where they were was that the way they dressed resembled the way every male dressed around here. Everyone had on loose fitted clothing; white sweaters or shirts and loose pants. Some of them walked barefoot and if not, they had on boots just like he and the rest of the crew did. The fact that they blended in brought him some sort of comfort. A comfort he definitely did not feel when he was alone on that boat. Or when he was first brought onto the ship.

"This is the inn," Minghao informs as they arrive outside the little building. "You guys can go on and explore if you want. Be back here before it gets too dark, okay?"

Before he knows it, the rest of them disperse and Minghao disappears into the building. Unsure as to where the rest of them went, he chooses to follow after Minghao who, upon seeing him, lifts his brows in surprise. Woozi chooses not to say the reason he's tagged along with him, instead looking over to the girl as she makes her way over to them.

"Cash?" she queries right as Minghao hands the money over. He nods his head in the direction of the door as if gesturing to the crew despite them not being there.

"They'll be here before dark. I'll point them out to you."

Gingerly, she accepts the money and turns her gaze to the book. "If you're staying, I can offer you a drink."

"On the house?"

With a scoff and roll of her eyes, she shuts the book with extra emphasis and in the blink of an eye, she's disappeared through the doors to the left. Minghao looks to Woozi in question.

"Think I'm getting that free drink?"

"Not any time soon," he murmurs.

Of course, the girl returns with three glasses which she places in a line on the counter. In one swift motion, she's opened one of the bottles lining the shelf until the glass is filled halfway. "First drink is on the house," she says stiffly. "Anything after, you're paying for."

"I can work with that."

"Do you perhaps have a name perhaps?" he asks as soon as he registers the third glass and for whom she was pouring it. He realizes that the chances of Minghao asking for her name were minimal; the moment he had the glass in his hand, it was clear he was no longer paying attention to his surroundings. As he plopped himself down by a table, he turns his head to look out of a window, rested his chin in his hand with his elbow supporting him and kept his hand curled tightly around the glass.

"Nayoung," she replies in that same tone as before. "Im Nayoung," she says as her eyes scan him up and down. Tilting her head ever so slightly so that her chin is upward, she arches a brow. "Do you have a name?"

"I go by Woozi."

Her laugh sends a jolt through him. He hadn't realized that the name he went by with the crew might have been odd to other people. Not until he saw the way she threw her head back, full on laughing. "That's not a name," she says between laughs, her head in a constant shaking motion. "You're joking, right? C'mon, tell me what's your name."

"I just did—"

"Honestly—"

"I have told you my name. Whether you choose to believe it or not is your decision."

"Well, I don't believe it—"

"Could you leave the kid alone?" While he knew who the voice belonged to, he almost didn't recognise it. The emptiness in Minghao's voice chilled him to the bone. Turning his head, surprise flashes through him when he meets Minghao's gaze. It's almost as empty as the tone of his voice. There's no hint of emotion and it is the lack of said emotion and how _natural_ it seemed that triggered the thought. He could see this being an everyday Minghao, despite how terrifying it was, and he wonders if there was ever a time where it was. Where this Minghao was a constant presence and the one he currently got to see every other day was nothing but a replacement; a cover. "He told you his name. Accept it."

There's an unsettling feeling in his stomach and maybe it's because of the way he's speaking and how different it is, but he doubts it. In truth, he thinks it has to do with the fact that while she had pressed on when he insisted it was his name, the moment Minghao insisted, she pressed her lips together and backed away. He officially felt like nothing; it was enough that he couldn't remember a thing, but when he was laughed at and ignored when telling someone about _himself_ , it hurt a little more than it should have. It reminded him that, with a lack of knowledge on himself, he was nothing. He couldn't back up arguments or certain actions or words with a reason when he knew nothing. It made him feel all kinds of negative.

"Woozi."

He doesn't look back as he walks over to the table with his drink. Taking a seat across from Minghao, he slides his glass across the table. "You can have it," is all he says as he turns his attention out of the window.

"Woozi? Is everything"

Before he can finish his sentence, there's a little cheer and an exclaimed ' _I found them_ '. A moment later, they're joined by Vernon and Dino. Scoups takes the empty seat to his left and watches as Minghao downs the glass Woozi had passed on.

"You could afford a drink?" As soon as the words pass through his lips, three drinks are placed, alongside their keys. After the drinks are downed, they play a game to decide the rooms.

At first, Vernon and Dino ended up together while Woozi had a room alone. Scoups made a query; he wanted Dino as his roommate so, completely ignoring the original game, they went for a trade. Vernon agreed to it so long as he got a room alone which of course, Woozi didn't mind handing over.

Minghao stared at him, eyes intense.

At the very least, there was emotion in them and Woozi would take it any day. It made the idea of rooming with Minghao all the more comforting.

He doesn't know what he would do if he were rooming with intense, emotionless Minghao and he'd prefer not finding out.


	11. Chapter 11

The room isn’t what he expected.

For one thing, it’s small though truthfully speaking, he expected this. It’s the beds that take him by surprise. Even Minghao seems surprised when he looks into the room. Rather than giving them a room with two separate beds, it’s one giant bed. 

“Seriously?” Minghao grumbles. “How daft are they?”

“You do not think the others may have ended up with two beds?” he queries upon catching sight of the frustration across Minghao’s face. 

Minghao eyes him and steps out of the room without a word. Woozi doesn’t need to ask to know that he’s going to check for himself in the event that that is the case; he’d definitely want to switch.

He takes a glance around the room which is not much, to say the least. There’s a carpet in front of the bed, adding colour to the simplicity of the wooden floors and there’s a little table beside the bed with what looks to be an oil lamp. There’s no windows or curtains, but there’s a cupboard he knows will come of no use to them, situated in the farther left corner. The room is simple and plain; the sheets are solid white, the pillows matching. 

It makes him wonder whether his room is the same, if he even had one. 

“No such luck,” Minghao grumbles, shutting the door behind him. “Looks like we’ll have to make do with what we have.” He mutters beneath his breath as he takes a seat on the bed. There’s no sign of further movement as, for the most part, it seems he’ll remain seated that way. 

“I see,” is all he can say. All he can think to say, really. Eyeing the bed, he contemplates taking a seat; he doesn’t want to do so only for Minghao to look at him in a way that would make him regret his own decisions. 

Of course when Minghao considers him still standing by the door with an odd, unsettling stare, he musters up a smile and seats himself on the opposite side of the bed which is, by definition, so much softer than he would have expected. It’s softer than the bed in the medbay room on their ship and, when Minghao doesn’t say anything the next few moments, he decides to lay down with the belief that the conversation (as well as any signs of possible conversation) are drawn to a zero. 

He lays his head on the pillow, knees pushed together and body close to the edge of the bed. As the night grows darker, so does the room; they haven’t lit the candle for the lamp yet so soon, the little furniture pieces morph into nothing more than shapes.

He’s not a big fan of it. The dark, that is. The dark or the shapes and the way it keeps morphing into something else. He doesn’t like how he can’t see anything unless he squints and more than anything else, he wants to ask Minghao to light the candle. Doing that may reveal his fears, however, and more so than what he needs or wants, he doesn’t want Minghao knowing that he’s scared. 

There’s a faint sound he manages to catch with a strain of his ears and slowly, the room floods with light. 

It’s comforting and the way relief flows through him until he’s sinking into the pillow is the most relaxed he’s probably felt in the longest time. 

“You’re welcome,” Minghao says when he remains silent. He’s confused, because he’s positive he hasn’t said anything and as much as he thinks about it, he’s almost certain he hadn’t displayed his feelings to the darkness. He hadn’t  _ said _ anything. So, how could Minghao possibly know?

“I did not say anything,” he responds carefully, keeping his gaze set on the ceiling, the faint light bouncing against it calmingly. 

“You didn’t have to.” He senses this isn’t the end of his words, so he waits patiently for Minghao to continue. “Body language and atmosphere.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your body language speaks louder than your words,” Minghao states simply. Woozi can hear the way he shifts his head and the way his gaze falls onto him. “The atmosphere changed the darker it got.”

“How do you know this?”

“I picked it up over the years.” Another pause in his words, like what he wants to say next is something he’s not entirely sure about. He hums for what feels like more than just a minute and then he’s speaking again. More than either of them expect. “My dad always told me that I should never rely on my eyes alone. It’s a dangerous thing, relying on one sense when you’re on the ocean ‘cause anything could happen. So, he taught me the basics. Telling me what to look for when someone wasn’t speaking and vice versa.” His tone has changed drastically from the one he’s become so familiar with. It’s changed drastically from the one he spoke in just moments before and it’s really fascinating. Without being told, he knows that this subject is what is affecting Minghao the way that it is and it’s truly fascinating because as far as he could tell, Minghao was private. He never really spoke about topics surrounding anything personal. 

Woozi still recalls asking about their families and how quickly he was shut down.

“Was your father a pirate too?” It comes out in a whisper, like he’s just as afraid to be heard by the wrong people. He’d rather be careful than speak a little too loudly. They couldn’t be sure how thin these walls were or who was roaming around and able to hear their conversation. If they were staying here for two nights, there was no harm in being safe.

“Yeah,” Minghao murmurs. “But he was like us. Nothing completely illegal. Actually one of the best pirates I ever knew. He had the best crew too. Started teaching me as soon as I was old enough to steer a ship.”

Woozi wants to comment; he wants to comment appropriately, but as soon as the chance finds him, it disappears just as quickly the moment Minghao speaks.

“It must suck not having your memories. Not remembering if you had parents and, if you did, what they were like. Not recalling  _ anything _ .”

As those words hang in the air, he no longer feels the need to say anything. He no longer  _ wants _ to say anything. 

With one last release of breath, he turns onto his side and shuts his eyes. He only hopes he can fall asleep before those words have a chance of haunting him in any way possible.


	12. Chapter 12

Hoshi looks down at them from the watchtower. Despite the distance, he can see the smile that crosses his face.

“What brings you guys here?” Hoshi asks when he’s caught up to Woozi, Vernon and Dino on the ground. The three had decided to take a little walk. Originally it was just the two, but Woozi wanted to get as far away from Minghao as possibly. Dino, whether he noticed or not, had kindly invited him and he wasn’t going to pass up such an opportunity. 

“Thought we’d come and check how everything’s going,” Vernon informs, taking a once over at the boat before he looks to Hoshi and smiles. He looks really nice when he smiles, so much so that he’s almost tempted to encourage Vernon to smile more. Of course, that’s not his place, so instead he bites back saying anything and turns to Hoshi.

“And the real reason?” Hoshi prods, grinning when he catches the surprise on Woozi’s face. He nods at Woozi, prompting him to respond instead of the other two. 

“We are hungry and are unable to spend anything more than what we already have,” he deadpans. He doesn’t know what it is, but it’s something in his response that elicits a burst of laughter out of Hoshi. With a wide-armed gesture, he heads on up to the deck, turning around swiftly and holding out an arm to help the three of them up. 

“Mingyu’s in the kitchen,” he informs them when Woozi has both feet firmly on deck, already making his way down to the lower deck. 

After sleeping out somewhere else, he feels as though the ship seems different. Unlike other days, there’s a lot more silence due to the lack of crew. He vaguely makes out a soft hammering sound and every now and again, grunts to follow, catching Woozi by surprise. Hoshi, who walks a little ways in front of him, quirks a brow though he’s still smiling. “Those are the people working on the ship,” he informs. As he pushes the door to the kitchen (and eating room, from what Woozi can remember) open, he adds, “Nothing to worry about.”

Mingyu is standing near the little sink, back pressed into the counter as he leans against it, paging through a book. 

“Good, you haven’t started yet.”

“I can’t decide what to make — Hey, it’s you guys!” The book is abandoned near the sink as he walks over. Vernon and Dino have already ducked away behind Hoshi, and he’s not sure why until he’s engulfed by Mingyu’s large frame. His arms wrap around him and he’s squeezing tightly; one of his hands lifts to rest atop Woozi’s head, ruffling his hair. “I missed you guys!”

“It has barely been twenty-four hours,” Woozi points out softly against his chest. Though he’s not returning this unexpected embrace, he’s not entirely against the embrace. It’s surprisingly comfortable and he liked that it made him feel somewhat safe, being embraced by someone heads taller than himself. It was as though he were being shielded from the rest of the world. Woozi nudges his chin up so he’s able to get a proper look at Mingyu.

“Which is far longer than I like,” Mingyu informs, his lips pulling into a pout as he pulls Woozi closer (which he hadn’t realized was possible until it was being done.) The hug is soon broken as Mingyu’s arms are tugged off of him and, not even a second later, he’s tugged backward.

“He gets really touchy when we’re apart for longer than three hours,” Vernon informs from beside him. He drops his hands to his sides as he walks over to the table and takes a seat.

“Is there a specific reason?” Woozi queries, plopping himself down beside Vernon and eyeing Mingyu as he walks back over to the sink. With every movement his arms and hands make, his shoulders respond — from stiffening to rolling back to flexing; it’s swift movements too and it’s clear as he watches from where he’s seated that Mingyu knows his way around a kitchen. He’s not just a cook because they needed one, he definitely would have become one regardless of whether he were on this ship now or not. 

“Anything can happen,” Mingyu states. “So when it hits a three hour mark and we haven’t regrouped, I usually start worrying.” There’s a soft chuckle, his shoulders bouncing. “I know that right now it can’t be helped, but I still worry.” There’s a rawness to his tone that is unmatched. He’s being so honest about it that Woozi loses himself. He completely forgets the conversation and the fact that he was the one who answered the question; he completely freezes as he stares at Mingyu, processing his words and wondering (as he seems to do every so often around them.) Wondering the reason behind those thoughts of his. 

“Yet we tell you not to worry,” Dino comments. He and Hoshi sit across from them, his head turned back so that he’s looking at Mingyu. “We always promise to come back, don’t we?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu says. There’s a ‘but’ that goes unsaid and it’s clear in the way his shoulders pull and how he shifts his stance that there’s something else he wants to say.

“But even with such promises, there is always the possibility of us not returning,” Woozi utters into the silence, picking out the exact words he feels Mingyu wanted to say and, with the look Mingyu gives him, he knows he’s hit it right on the nose. His lips quirk upward, if only slightly and he starts tapping his finger against the table absentmindedly. The conversation dies down shortly after as they wait for Mingyu to finish up the food. He’s ears lift slightly when he smiles upon turning around, carrying over the plates of food. They continue in silence, eating away at the food in front of them and occasionally sharing glances in between. 

When they’re done, Woozi stands and takes the plates over to be washed. There’s soft murmur of conversation between Mingyu and Hoshi while Dino comes over to assist him in washing up. A series of thank yous echo through the room when they decide it’s time to start heading back. They’re almost off the boat when Vernon stops and calls out to Mingyu. Mingyu quirks a brow as he waits to hear what Vernon has to say and it’s safe to say that the smile that forms in response to the words spoken were only half of Mingyu’s relief.

“We promise we’ll come back,” Vernon says firmly, lifting a hand to the air and showing his pinky. “All of us. Okay?”

Mingyu nods. “Okay.”

As they start their trek away from the boat, the words linger and Woozi hopes that that will be the case; that they’ll all return to the ship together. 


	13. Chapter 13

When Vernon headed back to the inn, Dino stopped Woozi before he could follow suit, asking him politely if they could go for a walk around the town and maybe take a look at the markets. If he’s being honest, all he wanted to do was go to his room and lay down, even if sleep didn’t meet him halfway. Of course that thought completely shattered when he locked eyes with Dino and, well, he just couldn’t say no.

Which is what brought them to where they were now. The town was big enough to lose your way every once in a while, but small enough that everyone knew everyone. The houses were packed tightly together, kids playing out on the pathings despite the hustle and bustle of people passing by.

“It is quite interesting,” Woozi murmurs to himself. He doesn’t expect to be heard, but Dino turns around, eyebrows lifting.

“What is?” he asks, when Woozi doesn’t respond to his unspoken question. In his defense, he hadn’t realized it was a question until it was put into words. Which annoyed _himself_ more than anything else.

“Just the way the town appears to be,” he responds softly, eyes flickering over to a pair of kids walking with an adult. “The town has a home feel to it and despite it being so late into the afternoon, everyone remains outside. The children sit in the way, but nobody yells at them. All of the friendly faces and their kind exchanges to one another is remarkably interesting.”

The corners of Dino’s lips hint at a smile. He turns his head and hums —something Woozi thinks is a form of agreement. “It’s how a lot of the towns around here are. Of course their lives aren’t perfect and somewhere around here, there are people who still cause havoc, but the town itself is warm and it makes you wish you were part of one. Doesn’t it?” His voice softens, a hint of nostalgia echoing in his voice.

“Did you grow up in a town similar to this?”

His question makes Dino stop for a moment. Unintentionally, he may have just crossed a line and the urge to rewind time and take his question back grows as the silence on Dino’s part continues. When someone almost bumps into them, Dino starts walking again, but the question is ignored; it’s as if it’s been left in the back and they were walking away from it.

“Look at this,” Dino comments, walking up to a stall where a woman stands, a bright smile shining across her face. Different forms of pottery form a semicircle around the stall while the actual tables of the stall consist of different chains and necklaces. There’s one in particular that Dino has pointed out. It’s got a black sort of chain and in the middle, a pendant in the form of a seashell; it’s a beautiful dusty white, two bright sea blue beads on either side of it. Woozi can’t help but admit that it really is mesmerizing.

“Do you like it?” Woozi asks when Dino starts looking at the others.

“It seems that you do, boy,” the woman comments, a husky tone to her voice. “I can offer you a wonderful deal for this item,” she offers, eyes smiling.

“Oh, no, I do not think I could—”

“How much?”

“How much can you offer?”

“No,” Woozi says again. “No, it is quite alright. Thank you, but we will be on our way.” Without looking back, he starts walking on ahead, venturing to another stall nearby.

“Hello, Sir,” the boy behind the stall greets politely. “Would you care to see what we sell?” He’s got this half-asian look to him, and through his accent and his pronunciation of the words, it’s clear Korean isn’t his first language. Although the way he speaks is appealing to him. Woozi likes the way the words curl off his tongue in such an elegant way that, if he met him under any other circumstance, he would have assumed he were of a higher class and he’s definitely pretty. His slightly tanned skin is decorated with dark marks that lead him to believe he gives a hand in all the heavy work. His smiling eyes glisten when Woozi speaks.

“Are these weapons?” Woozi queries, taking another look over at the stall. The contents were surely weapons, but he still wanted confirmation.

“Yes, sir. All hand made.”

Lifting one of the daggers, he assesses it. The intricacy of the design itself is by far amazing. It’s more than Woozi would expect from someone who hand made it. Right below the hilt of the dagger is two letters that read ‘J.H’. He glances up.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Joshua, Sir. Joshua Hong.”

Before their conversation can continue, Dino rejoins his side. None of them utter a word as Dino hooks their arms together and glances over at Joshua whose expression has darkened slightly. “Is something the matter?” he asks, notching down the volume in which he speaks.

“Is there a safe route out of here? Where we can’t be seen”

“Hey!” a yell from somewhere behind them. Dino curses, head whipping around to look at Joshua and eyes flashing with urgency. They’re in trouble and while he doesn’t know why, he knows Joshua better hurry up with an answer.

His eyes flicker somewhere behind them. “Not enough time to tell you,” he says, eyes returning to them. “I can show you.”

Dino doesn’t protest. There’s a tickle along his neck as his hand makes its way up, slipping something around his neck as it blops against his chest and then, when Woozi blinks again, he’s being tugged along as Dino hurries to keep up with Joshua.

“They’re going this way!”

“Dino, what’s going on?” Woozi demands, unable to keep the quake out of his voice. They’re right behind Joshua now, who Dino managed to inform needed to pick up the pace. At this point they’re running, but Woozi doesn’t care. He needs to know what’s going on and why a bunch of men dressed head to toe in uniform and with swords at their hips were following them. Did something happen? He highly doubts Dino would have stolen.

“They recognised me,” he hisses. Joshua’s got a hand on Dino’s wrist and is pulling him left. They make a rough swerve as they change directions.

“Do you need to hide somewhere or do you need to get to a certain location?” Joshua asks after another turn. “Because leading you around aimlessly does not sound like an option right about now.”

“The inn,” Dino stammers after a moment. “The Halloway Pristine Inn,” he relays the name. Woozi hadn’t even realized it had a name. Of course he _knew_ it had a name, but he never really took note of it. Not the way Dino clearly had. When he looks over at Dino, taking in his intense expression and the fear in his eyes, he considers being in his position, it wasn’t a choice. He was a pirate and part of a crew at the end of the day. All information became essential in those moments.

“I can get you there,” Joshua confirms. They walk through a crowd of people, hurrying down into an alleyway where they stop. In actual fact, it’s not quite an alleyway. Not precisely. It’s a gap between two houses which is fascinating enough considering the majority of the town houses were pressed together. He, Dino and Joshua stand shoulder to shoulder, heavy breathing audible mostly on Woozi’s part.

“Are you alright?” Dino murmurs, looking at him with such concern that Woozi ends up nodding.

Three guards race past them, not seeing them. Joshua peaks out and, when the ghost is clear, he starts moving. Dino and Woozi hurry to follow, but just as soon as they’ve stepped onto the path, a hand grabs at his arm and pulls him back roughly. He hisses involuntarily, making brief eye contact with Dino who has stopped across the way.

“Go,” Woozi mouths, when his struggles are deemed useless. The guard that has him is pulling him away. “Go! Run!” he yells when Dino shakes his head. The guard glares, hitting him against his head. Another guard comes to grab his other arm, the two lifting him so his feet are no longer on the ground. The more he struggles, the more he finds him hurting himself in the process.

He doesn’t know where they’re taking him, but he can’t deny the unmistakable sense of fear looming deep within him. As he takes in the way the town people look at him, pity in their eyes, he can’t help but remember the conversation they had with Mingyu. That their return is never promised.

They take him into a building on the far side of town and down a flight of stairs. They walk past empty cell after empty cell before finally stopping in front of one, right at the end of the room and like a rag doll, he’s tossed inside, the cell gate slamming shut and the clicking of the lock echoing through the silence of the rest of the room. 

“The other one got away,” a guard says, coming down.

One of the two that carried him here nods. “That’s alright,” he says. He looks over to Woozi, a wicked smirk forming as he says, “They’ll come for him. And when they do, we’ll have them all. Send them to the main city and let the king and queen decide their fates.”

The only emotion he can make out in that moment is pure horror and fear. He grips at his chest, freezing when his hand actually wraps around something. Taking a glance down, his eyes start to burn. The chain they'd seen at the stall was what Dino placed around his neck. He still got it despite Woozi's declinations. His lips tilt up into a small smile.

Suddenly, more than anything, he hopes they come for him. He hopes they come and that they're able to avoid capture.


	14. Chapter 14

Minghao is seated at one of the tables, mid-conversation with Seungcheol when Dino walks in, a white haired boy following right behind him. His eyes scan behind them, waiting for a third person to appear, but there appears to be so sign of him.

“Dino?” he starts, looking over at him with a quizzical expression. Eyes scanning the doctor, worry starts to sink in at the sight of him trembling and with a glance at the stranger, he knows something good could not have happened. “Where’s Woozi?” he asks, standing. 

Dino shakes his head, still gasping for breath. His hand rests on his chest as he attempts to reclaim said breath and when they lock gazes, his eyes are fiercely apologetic. “The guards,” he says between breaths. Straightening his posture, his expression turns sullen. “The guards got him.”

Seungcheol is the one to respond. “What do you mean they got him?” he demands, voice hinting at his enragement. “How did they get him?”

“The guards recognised me. Started coming after me. We were coming back, but they were persistent so we had to run,” he explains, voice quaking. “They —  They grabbed him,” he stammers. “I didn’t want to leave him but he told me to go.” His voice seeps with guilt, his expression grim. 

Without a second thought, Minghao steps over and hits his hand gently against his back. “You did the right thing, Chan.” 

“They recognised you, but they didn’t know him. He hasn’t been with us long enough. They probably assumed he’s one of us, like a new addition. He got caught in the crossfire,” Vernon murmurs, practically narrating the situation. He looks up at Dino as he continues, “But it’s better than both of you being taken away.” 

He’s seated at the table with his hands folded, wary eyes resting on the stranger Dino walked in with. “How are you involved in this?” he asks when a silence looms over them, Minghao too preoccupied in ensuring Dino is alright rather than firing the questions necessary. The questions were running through his mind, but asking them was the last thing on his mind. Which meant the job automatically got handed over to Seungcheol and Vernon. It was something that occurred over their years of working together.

“He helped me,” Dino responds before the guy can say anything. “He and Woozi were speaking and I asked him to get us out of there.”

Minghao considers him for a moment before bowing his head. “Thank you for bringing Dino back safely.”

“It’s my pleasure,” the guy says. He’s got a soft aura to him as he smiles. “I am sorry that your friend was taken. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“And how do you suspect you can help us?” Seungcheol fires. 

“I live here, for one.”

“Meaning?”

“I know the town better than any of you,” he says smoothly. “I know where they’re taking them and, because I’m one of the stall workers, I know the schedules of the guards.” He looks completely relaxed and at ease as he says this. It’s clear he’s not a part of the group with the way the rest of them sat, squared shoulders and worried eyes flashing between everyone and around the room as they most likely try to come up with a solution.

Before they can continue the conversation, Minghao shoots the group a single look that is enough to keep them quiet while he ushers Dino to take a seat. Seungcheol immediately scoots over, assessing him and ensuring (most likely for himself) that Dino really was okay. Knowing fully well that he’s in safe hands, Minghao turns his attention back onto the guy in front of them. 

“And what’s in it for you?”

The guy looks at him incredulously, as if incentives were the last thing on his mind which is rubbish as far as he’s concerned. Minghao has been in the business long enough to know that nobody willingly does something without incentive. “I just want to help,” he insists when realizing how serious the question was. “I spoke to your friend for a bit and he seemed genuinely nice. So, I’d like to help.”

“I don’t buy it.” Crossing his arms, he takes a quick look at the guy, dressed head to toe in clothing much similar to theirs; a white shirt and loose pants. He’s even wearing boots. “What’s your name?”

“Joshua,” he replies instantaneously. “And I swear, all I want to do is help.”

“There is not a soul on this earth that ‘just wants to help’,” replies Minghao, air quoting the words. He would have mimicked them too if he didn’t think that would have him appear too childish. “So what is it that you want in exchange for your help?”

“I take it you’re considering accepting my help then,” Joshua comments, a smile curling it’s way across his face. 

“I can’t deny that your assistance in this will be more than just a tad bit useful,” Minghao informs. “And if my crew here agrees”

“We’ve already discussed it,” Seungcheol pipes in. “We think it’ll be great having him help.”

He doesn’t think Joshua’s smile could stretch any further, but somehow it’s managing exactly that as he looks at the others and mouths a ‘thank you’. When he turns back to Minghao, the smile hasn’t disappeared, but his eyes have managed to turn a shade darker as the seriousness of the situation fills them in. 

“If you’re so insistent on me having an incentive, I’ll give you one so long as you let me help.” Joshua sticks out a hand, looking expectantly at Minghao with a slight tilt of his head and his eyebrows lifting to disappear beneath the hair resting across his forehead. “Sounds reasonable, don’t you agree?”

Without a word, Minghao grips his hand and gives it a solid, firm shake before dropping it a second later. They join the rest at the table. 

“So, how are we going to get him back?” Vernon queries when nobody says a word. 

They’re all a little tense around Joshua, but it’s the best they can do for now. Minghao asks him to give them as much information about the guards and their schedules as he possibly could and as he speaks, he’s certain that Joshua is their best bet in having a one hundred percent success rate in the rescue. He’s almost as certain about his certainty. Minghao didn’t want to consider their success rate without someone who knew their way around this town. Of course  _ he _ knew, but he only knew as far as he could remember. He knew the way the streets turned, paved and chipped and where the best bar was, but as Joshua parrots the relay of information, he knows he wouldn’t have been able to compete. He wouldn’t have been able to provide all this information which becomes the most vital part in the plan they devise.

While Joshua’s a complete stranger to them, he’s glad they have him around. Minghao’s lips curl slightly at the corners. 

“Do we need a plan B?” Dino murmurs once they’ve covered the plan and Joshua looks ready to intervene, but Minghao’s already shaking his head.

“This is the only plan we’ll need,” he assures confidently. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: violence (it's not a majorly written scene of violence, but I'm putting it here just in case.)

He’s pressed into the furthest corner of his cell. Every chance he gets, he finds himself clutching at the chain.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been here (it can't have been that long), but it’s been long enough that he’s started losing feeling in his legs. Despite this, he doesn’t shift his position; he doesn’t want to. Though the guards have yet to say anything, if he so much as moves, their eyes dart over to him. They look at him as if he’s just performed the most heinous of crimes which he’s almost sure is not true.

He wants to know what they’re thinking, but he fears that if he speaks, they’ll strike at him again. They didn’t seem too friendly, but then again he’s never met a guard that appears so.

“Alright,” one of the two guards says. He’s at the entrance to the room and he’s been there for the longest time, seeming to be in conversation with another person. His words signal the end of said conversation. He returns to the guard who has yet to leave his post (he’s got these solid blue eyes that at first, completely startled Woozi and, in any other circumstance, they would be mesmerizing.) “They gave us the okay to interrogate him,” he says.

Blue eyes seemed pleased, face lighting up for the first time since they captured him. They unlock the cell, the gate opening with a creek that bounces off the walls. His boots thud against the ground as he steps into the cell and with the expression on his face, Woozi has to fight to stop himself from nudging further into the corner.

The guard behind him nods. “Hope you don’t mind a few questions.”

“What’s your name, kid?” The guard asks, voice coming off as loud as the thud of his boot. “You have one, don’t you?”

“I do not know my name,” comes Woozi’s response, more timid than ever. An involuntary flinch occurs on his part as the guard takes another step forward. The one guard laughs, a booming sound that has Woozi wincing.

“How do you not know your own name, kid?” Blue eyes queries. He takes another step forward, eyeing him for a moment as he contemplates his next question. Woozi can see the way the gears are turning as he tries to think it out carefully. Interrogation or not, asking the wrong question at the wrong time can have an effect neither guard would want. “We saw you with that boy,” he says again, slowly this time. “He’s part of the Drifters.”

“The Drifters?”

The guard’s foot is against his chest, pressing delicately. “C’mon,” he says, a wicked smirk curving its way onto his face. “You have to know who they are at the very least. You’ve been spending time with them.”

Genuinely speaking, Woozi did _not_ know. All he knew was they were a pirate crew. They were hated on and wanted for reasons that were never really their fault to begin with. He knew a little bit about each member of the crew like how Vernon was scarily calm and collected no matter the situation or how Scoups and Dino were dating but concerned about any negative reactions resulting in their whole tiptoeing around him about it. He knew Mingyu loved hugs when he was nervous or that Hoshi didn’t exactly scream ‘member of the crew’ like the rest of them. All of that he knew. Not once does he recall ever asking them the name of the crew. He never asked what they called themselves nor what the name of the ship was. It never came up and he wished the guards would just accept his answer as is.

“I do not know the name—”

The sound echoes. The guard’s hand makes contact with his cheek and the next thing he knows, his head has turned as a result of the impact. Pain stings across his cheek and he has to bite his tongue to stop from making any unnecessary sounds. His eyes tear involuntarily in response to the smack.

“Next question,” the guard says as if nothing happened. Acting as if he hadn’t just smacked Woozi with no reason whatsoever. “Where are they? Do you know?”

The guard behind them, still standing at the entrance of the cell, makes eye contact with Woozi. He almost looks apologetic. “Withholding any information you have on these pirates will only have your experience here all the more torturous. If you tell us what you know, you can walk away freely.” He speaks cooly, so convincingly that Woozi almost believes him. So convincingly that the guard almost believes himself. Something inside him tingles; like an alarm going off in his head. He knows that somehow, they won’t just let him go.

Not that he’d even consider it.

“I have no information that will value you—”

He topples over, falling onto his side. An intense and sharp pain makes itself known as he knocks his shoulder against the concrete floor. A lingering pain in his side where the guard managed to get in the kick. He slides his hand over, clutching the side delicately as he pushes himself up with his other arm.

“Funny,” Blue eyes says. “If you’re not willing to give us information then surely you must be one of them. Covering for your own.” That sickening smirk flashes across his face again and a cold shudder erupts through him.

“Or I simply do not know anything.” Another kick to his stomach. Churning terribly, a wave of nausea hits him. He tries to shuffle back, but this earns him a hit across the head.

“You pirates sicken me, you know that?” Blue eyes spit out in disgust. “Inconsiderate thieves that are always on the run. Selfish is what you guys are,” he says lowly.

“As if you are any better,” Woozi murmurs despite himself. “You automatically assume I am one of them simply because you have seen me with someone from their crew _once_. And the assumptions you have made of them while doing to me as you please with no fear of consequences. It must be because to you I am just a so-called thief and if it were to come out as public knowledge, they would never second guess a guard.” He doesn’t know what he’s doing, doesn’t know why he’s speaking and saying all of this. It will surely only have the consequences be more dire. And yet, he proceeds. Lifting himself slowly so he’s resting on both elbows, he makes eye contact with the guard in front with the blue eyes. And it almost feels like a challenge, despite that not being his intentions in the slightest.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he yells, pressing his foot into Woozi’s chest again to the point where his elbows give in and he’s laying flat on his back. Usually this is the part where he would stop talking; he’s sure this is the part where everyone stops speaking. So why doesn’t he?

“I am right, am I not?” The guard looks ready to protest, but he’s not finished. “You are certainly not denying it so it must be true. If I die, my blood is on your hands yet you will not be prosecuted. You will not have to pay the consequences for my death as you can simply go out there and tell them that I was a pirate, plotting against the rest of you and you have saved the world. Instead, on your conscience will be the blood of an innocent—”

This time, the slap echoes. It’s an awful sound as skin makes contact with skin. Even Woozi didn’t expect it.

“Shut up, already,” the guard grumbles. “Acting all high and mighty. Your little way of speaking isn’t going to spare you. It’s definitely not going to fool us.”

Before anything further can occur, the door opens as another guard walks in. He’s bulkier than the first two, a darker complexion too. “We’ll be leaving for the main city tomorrow. The prisoner transport vehicle is outside. Boss says you can load him there at midnight.” The guy’s voice is smooth though a little deeper than the rest. Woozi can feel the vibration from where he sits and frankly, had it been this man interrogating him, he wouldn’t have minded. He still wouldn’t have given away any information, but he still would have preferred this man. He suspects he’d be a lot gentler.

Blue eyes meet his own. “I’m presuming you need him alive.”

“As long as he can talk and he’s still breathing,” he comments. Woozi second guesses his thoughts from before; he’d definitely still be facing harsh actions such as this. The guard doesn’t glance back when he leaves. Woozi wants to cry out for help, but he knows he’s useless.

“It is pointless,” Woozi murmurs. “I am not a pirate. Nothing you do to me will change that.”

The second guard scoffs, but he remains silent. He and Blue eyes share a look before he turns away. “Just tell us anything you know about The Drifters.”

“I do not—”

There’s a pause in the air as they’re interrupted, someone calling for both of them. Woozi watches as they step out of the cell, locking the gate and already making their way out without a word. Blue eyes is out the door, but the other guard stops.

“We’ll give you the time that we’re gone to reconsider your answers. Anything that occurs post our return, we will not be held accountable for.” With that, he leaves and the entire room is quiet. He’s the only person in a cell, it seems; he assumes the others have already been transferred to the main city, which is what seems to happen to all of their prisoners.

He doesn’t belong here. He knows that; he wishes they did too.

With one final, exhausted sigh, Woozi pushes himself into the furthest corner, closes his eyes and allows himself to doze off. He knows, no matter how much time of reconsideration he’s provided, his answers won’t change. There was no point overthinking it. So he decided sleep would be the best thing.

It will certainly help in preparation for whatever the guards have in store for him. 


	16. Chapter 16

The relief that washes over him when midnight strikes is undeniable. Every muscle in his body is aching and all he really wants is to lay down. He doesn’t want to move.

It’s not his choice. The guards have a hold on his arms, dragging him out of the cell. He can barely stand, the pain and exhaustion merging together while his body screamed in protest. Not wanting his legs to drag behind him, he forces his feet to make contact with the ground. The guards move fast and he unsteadily does his best to keep up.

“You could have made it easier on yourself,” one of the guards says. It’s the other one. Blue eyes does not look at him as they walk. Woozi’s struggle must be that evident if he’s being told that. They reach the prisoner transport vehicle, which is basically a wagon and Blue eyes releases his hold on him to go and unlock the back gate of the wagon. It’s like a cell on wheels.

Nothing is said as it opens and he’s thrown into the vehicle like a rag doll, elbows scraping against the wood. Woozi can barely push himself up. Drowsiness lurks in him; oh how badly he wants to sleep, but something deep down tells him not to. Except it’s increasingly difficult the longer he stares. His gaze hasn’t torn away from the guards who, rather than going to wherever it is the other guards disappear to, stand on either side of the gate. His vision is fuzzy and unclear, his eyes refusing to focus.

Of course, despite his best efforts, he ends up with his eyes closed. There’s a waging war inside of him as he tries to fight off the sleep. Surely allowing himself to doze off when he’s knocked his head multiple times is a bad thing. The temptation of sleep, however, is much stronger than his will to fight it. Exhaustion starts to grab at every limb, numbing out the pain that he was once too aware of. Really, how could he say no?

He doesn’t know when, but he does eventually fall into a doze. That is, until the echo of a sound somewhere near the wagon that jolts him awake. Tense, he looks at the gate, peering into the darkness (nevermind the fact that he can’t see what is out there.) He sits up, alert. Starts pushing himself back into the wagon, hands trembling. Another thud echoes, followed by the jingle of keys.

When the gate opens, he doesn’t expect to see the familiar head of hair that pops in. At first, Minghao doesn’t see him; it’s too dark to really be able to (Woozi can barely see Minghao himself), but then his eyes fix on him and a soft, relieved smile curls across his face. “There you are,” he murmurs, shifting forward and stretching out his hand.

“H— Hao?” Woozi stammers. There’s a tremble in his voice that he’s unable to shake away. He doesn’t take his hand. Not yet. The disbelief bursting through his chest is consuming. He can’t help the surprise upon seeing the Captain who seems to freeze for a moment. His face is a blur to Woozi, but he can still make him out slightly.

Minghao hums, hand curling around Woozi’s arm carefully, an apology flying past his lips when he hisses. The faint remnant of pain lingers through his arm. Through his entire body. “C’mon,” Minghao says delicately. “We’re screwed if we get caught.”

When Minghao hops out of the wagon, Woozi is already shaking his head. He can’t feel his legs so walking would be the last possible thing. His legs felt wobbly. He didn’t trust them landing him safely on the ground. When their eyes lock, Woozi sends a silent plea his way and for the most part, Minghao seems to understand.

In one single move, he’s wrapped Woozi’s arm around his shoulder and scooped him up, placing him on the ground while still keeping hold of his arm. “Woozi,” Minghao murmurs softly. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk?” Despite asking, he seems to have already deduced that he will, in fact, not be able to walk. Not by himself at least. He’s looking somewhere beside him, but Woozi can’t find it in him to see what he’s looking at. His body starts to slump against Minghao’s right as his other arm is taken.

“We’ve got you.” At the sound of Vernon’s voice, surprise flutters through him. “But we need to hurry,” Vernon says. Woozi has managed to turn his head to take a proper look at him and the pure relief that washes over Vernon’s face elicits a slight smile across his face. Vernon smiles too before it wipes away completely. “I know it hurts, but we need you to bear with us, okay? Help us out until we’re a safe distance away.” The urgency and sincerity in his words are unmatched.

The two don’t wait for a response; they start moving at the sound of groans behind them. The guards were starting to wake and they needed to move fast. He doesn’t see the way they smile when he starts walking as they move.

They’ve gotten halfway when a siren-like sound goes off. Woozi flinches. In the blink of an eye, Vernon and Minghao hoist one of his legs, moving a little quicker. In the distance, he can hear the guards yelling. Some of the houses suddenly light up at the disturbance, but nobody moves from their homes. With a glance back, he can see people peeking through their windows. Children being held tightly to their parents.

“We need to hurry,” Vernon says.

They’re jogging at this point. A jog that turns into a run. The ship comes into sight and relief wraps around him like a blanket. Vernon drops his arm and calls out. A moment later, Hoshi’s head pops up on the side.

“Hosh, we’re going to need you to grab him,” Minghao calls out to him. He’s already started lifting Woozi up, Vernon doing the same. “Zi, grab onto Hoshi, okay?”

A flicker of surprise startles through him, but there’s no time to dwell on it as he reaches out his arm. It’s still dark and he can barely make out Hoshi. Flailing his arm around, he stops when he knocks something and with the way Hoshi grips his hand with his own, the other arm stretching out to grab his arm, he presumes it had been difficult for him to see as well. They count to three when Minghao and Vernon boost him, Hoshi automatically going to pull him up onto the deck, both of them landing flat on the deck.

Hoshi props himself on his elbows. “Woozi? Woozi, are you alright?”

There’s the faint brush of something against his cheeks, but he can’t find the energy to open his eyes. His head is pressed against Hoshi’s knee, and there’s no feeling in his limbs; they’ve gone completely numb. An echo of footsteps make their way over, the faint mumble of words that follow, but he can’t even begin to care or the very least try to.

His senses slowly but surely shut off as he succumbs to the welcoming darkness, body completely relaxing as the exhaustion finally wins. The last thing on his mind is the relief to know that he’s safe; he’s back with the crew so nothing could harm him. 


	17. Chapter 17

They’re at least an hour into the ocean and away from the town when Dino approaches Minghao. He looks more nervous than Minghao would have cared for, which does not help much with the worry bubbling inside of him.

Woozi’s condition had not been a pleasing sight; from the moment Minghao got him out of that wagon, he could sense there was something off. Since then, he’s been fighting off the worry stirring inside of him. He didn’t want to so much as imagine what the guards had done. Not until they heard it from Woozi themselves. Of course, as much as he didn’t want to imagine it, standing alone and steering the ship, his imagination could sometimes get a little out of hand. Waiting to hear from Dino about his condition had not helped with the nerves. It was his only way of calming them in fact. That’s why one look at Dino was enough to spur up a bunch of different emotions.

“How’s he looking?” Minghao asks when Dino doesn’t say anything. His eyes cast their way to the wooden boards of the deck, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. Minghao got bored once and decided to try and make them; that was how they managed to survive with the amount of clothes they all currently owned. Out of all of them, Dino was the one to use them the most, especially when he was nervous or trying to figure out a way to approach a certain topic.

“They got in a few good hits,” he responds finally, eyes meeting Minghao’s. “Other than those, mostly just bruises. He’s resting at the moment.”

Humming, Minghao thanks him, turning his gaze back out onto the ocean. He always liked the ocean, even when little. It brought about a calm that nobody else or nothing else managed to. Dino stands beside him silently, stepping back when Vernon approaches.

“You seem worried,” Vernon points out, plopping himself on the step. He peeks up at Minghao in anticipation of his reaction.

“I’m not,” Minghao responds, avoiding looking over at Vernon as he says this. There’s a scoff he knows comes from Vernon.

“‘Course you are,” Vernon says, accent slipping through his words. “He’s practically part of the crew and he’s hurt because of us. You of all people hate that, _Captain_.”

He does his best to remain unphased, but in total honesty, Vernon isn’t wrong. As a captain, it was his job to ensure that every person in his crew remained unharmed; he was to keep them safe and protected and while he’s had years of success in the department, he managed to fail with their newest addition to the crew. Which made him feel even worse. His stomach churned unwelcomingly at the thought of Woozi hurt. The memory of his voice when they got him; the pain in his expression, it did not settle well with him. He wants to change the subject, no longer wanting to dwell on this part of their conversation.

“So,” Vernon says, picking up on the atmosphere. “What about our next destination.”

“The town is a four day travel. We’ll be meeting our clients there and we’ll get all the information then.”

“But we’re definitely taking the job?” Vernon questions. His voice takes on a softer tone which may be due to the uncertainty of the idea. After all, they never took on any jobs like this. They waited until they had all the information before deciding together whether they would accept it or not. The difference right now was that they needed the money. The offer was extremely generous and while it rang alarm bells in Minghao’s head, he wasn’t about to pass it up.

“Yeah,” he says after a moment. “We don’t really have a choice.”

Halfway out to sea, Seungcheol switches places with him after much debate on Minghao’s part. (“Just go and check on him already,” Seungcheol said, practically dragging him away from the wheel. “We both know I’m capable of steering the ship.”) Minghao scoffed, but he wasn’t going to argue with him. He could barely get to the medbay fast enough.

Peeking in, he spots Dino mashing stuff together. Herbs, it looked like. His head tilts up at the sound of the door opening. When he saw Minghao, his eyes softened for a moment, glancing over to the bed. Following his gaze, his eyes settled on Woozi who was out cold on the bed. The only sense of life was the slow rise and fall of his chest. There was a plaster peeking out beneath the hair covering his face, a bandage wrapped around his head and pressing his hair flat against his face. Even just the way he laid looked so stiff, it concerned Minghao. Just a bit.

“He’ll probably be out for a while still,” Dino says when Minghao doesn’t say anything. He closes the door behind him and takes a seat on the other bed.

The bandages on his arms that once stopped just above his wrists have been extended up his forearm. He looked more banged up than Minghao had expected him to.

“It was really that bad?”

“Like I said, they really did a number on him.” He purses his lips, staring down at the herbs as he crushes them. Minghao recalls asking him once why he didn’t just buy medicine or the ingredients he would need to make them. His response had been that herbs were better; he trusted it more. Dino glances over at him, the smile brushing away. “He seems to be the sort to injure easily. More bruises than anything else.”

Minghao hums. He’s sure Dino’s telling him this to ease his worry. Which actually helps.

They sit like that for a while when the door opens, Mingyu popping his head in to inform them they should come and eat. Not feeling hungry, Minghao ensured he was alright and ushered Dino out before retaking his seat.

He watches Woozi quietly, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You’ll be okay, kid," he murmurs, knowing fully well his words aren't getting through. All they do is linger in the air and yet somehow, that's perfectly okay with him.


	18. Chapter 18

Eyes peeling open, it takes him a moment to process where he is. Out of the corner of his eye, he can make out a figure on the other bed, but he can’t see who it is. His eyes flicker around the room as he processes everything, realization hitting him as he spots the medicine cabinet. He’s in medbay.

He starts to lift himself onto his elbows when the door pushes open. Dino walks in, a plate of food in hand. Woozi thinks the plate is intended for the person on the other bed. While curiosity sparks at him, he pushes it down when Dino acknowledges him with a brief smile.

“You’re awake.”

“Hello to you as well,” he says in response, voice a lot softer than he expected it to come out.

Smiling, Dino makes a gesture to the plate. “I was bringing this for Minghao, but you should eat.” At the sound of the captain’s name, he can’t help but look over to the other bed, food becoming irrelevant despite his hunger.

“What about him?” he queries, managing to slip away the concern as he fires his next question. “Is he hurt?” He couldn’t think of another reason why Minghao would be in the medbay other than being hurt as well. Which was concerning on his own because the last thing he was able to recall was him being hoisted onto the ship. So when would he have had time to get hurt?

With a quick, dismissive wave of his hand, he assures him that Minghao is quite alright. Just worried. That word alone catches him by surprise, but he doesn’t think too much about it. Gratefully accepting the plate of food, he shifts himself to sit up, digging in after uttering a thank you.

Dino leans against the door, observing Woozi who ultimately pretends not to notice. Eventually, he clears his throat. “Would you mind letting me give you another check-up?” The question sparks a wonder in him; was he sitting oddly? Was he not appearing a particular way and somehow worrying Dino? Or was it just him wanting to do another check up now that he was awake? He couldn’t be too sure, though of course he didn’t mind either way.

“I do not mind. Though may I ask what it is for?”

“Just your reflexes. See how you’re responding and if everything is okay or if you’re hurt anywhere I wasn’t able to see before,” he explains, a shy smile forming. “If that’s okay with you. I would like to be certain before letting you leave.”

“It is alright, yes.”

Dino looks about ready to say something else when a soft groan disrupts their conversation. Turning, Minghao starts to sit up in bed, eyes landing on Woozi when he’s lifted his head.

“You’re awake,” is the first thing he says, eyes scanning Woozi as he speaks. Something akin to a smile curves across his face and while he could be wrong, he thinks he sees a little relief in Minghao’s eyes as he leans back and his posture relaxes.

“I—I am,” he stammers in response, lowering his gaze.

“And you’re okay?” Minghao asks again for confirmation.

“Mostly. I suppose I just injure easily,” he responds sheepishly. Dino smiles like he’s just won a massive prize while Minghao only nods. He seems glad to hear this for the most part. It lasts for about a few seconds before Minghao sits up. He leans forward, arms crossing and elbows pressing into his knees.

“So, do you want to tell me what they did to you?”

“Is it a requirement?”

“I’d really like to know,” Minghao murmurs. “Though if you don’t want to—”

“Oh.” Woozi shakes his head. He wanted to tell him, more than anything else. If he was being honest, he wanted to tell Minghao more than anybody else. Seeming to understand the situation, he nods.

“They asked me about you and your crew. They believed that I had access to information despite my affirmations that I did not. After being accused of lying, they did to me what they wished to. A hit for every ‘lie’ and when the interrogation was over, they wished to buy time until midnight.”

Minghao looks furious. More furious than Woozi could have imagined. He seemed more than ready to get up and go find those guards. Of course they both knew that wouldn’t be happening. He catches Dino staring at Minghao, perhaps to assess the situation and then, with a soft smile, claps his hands together.

“Let me do that check-up.” His words are enough to pull Minghao out of his rage, eyes focusing on Woozi as concern reforms itself across his face. The rage is gone.

“Woozi?”

He looks up at Minghao who continues looking at him with that set expression. Eyebrows crinkled in thought and lips pursed, only parting when he released a sigh before speaking.

“Yes?”

“It won’t happen again.” He knows the certainty in Minghao’s voice should be reassuring. It should have him feel just a little more at ease and yet somehow, it didn’t do a thing. Which is most likely why he responds the way that he does.

“Okay.”

“Woozi,” he says again before Woozi can look away.

“Yes?”

“I promise.”

“Promises are dangerous.” Someone once told him that; at least, he thinks with how automatic and reflexive the response is. He doesn’t know who. It’s the only thing that pops into his head and rolls off his tongue. He thinks he’s even said it before.

“I know.” A wry smile crosses his face.

“Do you still wish to make this promise?” He looks Minghao dead in the eye. There’s nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

“I do.” He pauses. “I still promise.”

Woozi stares at him quietly, taking in the words being uttered. He smiles briefly, only looking away when Dino ushers Minghao to wait outside so he could complete the check-up without any distractions. He watches Minghao go and somehow he knows that if he had stayed in here, that would definitely be a distraction. 


	19. Chapter 19

When Dino gives him the okay, Woozi steps outside and together with Minghao, they make their way up to the top deck. Heads turn their way; the crew are all huddled together near the wheel aside from Scoups who is steering the ship. They stop a few feet away from the group who has yet to say anything. All they do is stare.

Which is why the moment he’s being pulled into an embrace, he hasn’t even registered it. He can’t tell who it is, but he doesn’t push away. Instead, he returns the embrace.

“So glad you’re okay,” the person—Vernon—says. At the sound of his voice, he can’t help but be surprised. He was almost entirely sure Vernon didn’t quite like him, so him admitting he’s glad to see him, much less to be receiving the hug, the surprise is definitely not misplaced in his opinion.

“It is good to see you as well,” Woozi murmurs as Vernon sets him down onto the ground delicately. Vernon lifts his hand, resting a hand on his head and he ruffles Woozi’s hair, a silent message being passed on.

He’s about to respond when the sound of his name pulls his attention over. Mingyu, who hadn’t been with the group, races across the deck. In one giant scoop, he’s lifted off the ground into an embrace so tight, he struggles to return the hug. Another set of arms soon join in, a ‘hello’ being passed on from Hoshi. They stand that way for a good full minute or two before he’s placed back on the ground. He knew Mingyu was tall but actually being lifted by Vernon as well as Mingyu, he was able to tell the difference.

“It is good to see you all again,” Woozi says assuredly as he’s finally placed down. Hoshi steps forward, wrapping his arms around Woozi, but not lifting him. It’s a much more gentle embrace and he remains unmoving. His eyes scan the group before falling onto Minghao. “So where is our next destination?”

“Our next client,” Minghao informs him, seeing unfazed by Hoshi’s sudden need for affection. Woozi suspects it’s happened before. “Not all of us will need to see them so when we get there, Cheol and I will go. We’ll get the information we need and come back to discuss the plan.”

“But you are definitely taking this job?”

“Yes,” Minghao says firmly. A set of footsteps hit hard against the deck, causing Woozi’s head to whip around at the sound. Everyone was there, so who could it possibly be?

“You’re awake!” Joshua calls out cheerily. He makes his way over, a constant smile across his face. “I’m glad.” His hair is messy, like he’s just woken up, but Woozi highly doubts that. As he stops in front of him, there’s a hint of recognition that has his stomach tingling.

“You are on the ship?” It’s the first thing he can think to ask.

“Yeah.” He grins a little more, if that’s even possible. “Helped out a little.”

Minghao grumbles. “In exchange for weapon delivery.”

“Hey now. You were the one who wouldn’t just take my help. You offered and insisted it was the only way you would, in fact, accept my help.” He turns his attention back to Woozi, smile relaxing as he does. “Good to see you’re in one piece.”

“Thank you for assisting us.”

“I mean, pretty sucky assist,” he says, seeming to know what Woozi was actually referring to. It wasn’t the saving him part or the fact that he helped the crew but more the fact that, despite not knowing them, he helped them out when they needed it. He helped them in escaping. He’s frowning, lips pressed tightly together. “You got caught,” he mutters. “Which I’m sorry for by the way.”

“You do not have anything to apologise for,” he says with a smile. “You were able to get Dino to safety. Which is better than having both of us captured.” He means it. As much as he absolutely hated being caught; hated what they were doing to them, when he looked over to Dino, all he could think was how grateful he was that one of them was able to escape. If it had been both of them, Dino wouldn’t have been able to get to where the crew was and they would have possibly failed to rescue both of them. If both of them were captured, Joshua wouldn’t have been able to find the crew and they’d be in the same boat.

When he looks over, Minghao has that brief smile across his face again. “He’s not wrong.”

With a clap of his hands, Mingyu draws their attention to him. “In celebration of your rescue, I say I will make a feast. I’m dying to cook again.”

“An entire feast?” Hoshi squeaks out in disbelief.

Mingyu’s expression shifts in seconds. He looks sheepish. “A little bit less of a feast, then. But still, supper?” Without waiting for a response, he makes his way down to the lower deck. The group starts to move, but Minghao stays back to speak to Scoups and, without knowing, Woozi waits too. Minghao seems to note this.

“You didn’t have to wait,” he says charmingly. He’s already walking. “Just told Seungcheol to take a break.” As these words pass itself into the air, Scoups joins his side. An arm drapes around his shoulder.

“Is that safe?”

“When the waters are this calm, it is,” Scoups informs him with a grin that shows off his gums. It’s a cute smile. “But I’ll still go and check every now and again. Since the waters can always change their mood.”

Listening to the way he speaks about the waters, it’s clear he’s been in it for as long as Minghao. Like there was no life other than this. Anything else could never be considered a possibility.

When they get down to the dining and kitchen area, he doesn’t have a chance to process where everybody is seated. He doesn’t get to choose where to sit either as the moment he’s there, Vernon tugs him onto the seat beside him. Minghao sits on his other side. They’ve already poured drinks, a cup being nudged into his hand.

“To a successful rescue,” Joshua says, lifting his cup. They mimic his words, knocking cups together and chugging it down. Woozi chooses to take it one big sip after another, not wanting to cough it all up again.

“Okay?” Minghao whispers in his ear. His breath is warm against Woozi’s neck and somehow, it’s more calming than the hugs.

Woozi hums. “I am very glad you all came to rescue me,” he admits softly. There was a part of him that feared he’d be stuck there.

“Did you think we wouldn’t?” Their shoulders are pressed together. He doesn’t know how they closed the distance, because there was a large space between them, but he definitely doesn’t mind it.

“Whether I did or not does not matter,” he murmurs. “You rescued me. That is all that matters.” 


	20. Chapter 20

This time when Woozi offers to assist in cleaning up, Mingyu declines it. (“You should rest some more while you can. Seriously, it’s okay.” With the way he insisted, how could he possibly say no to him?) With no idea where else to go, he makes his way to his usual position. He’s almost to the ladder when a hand rests on his shoulder and without much thought, he turns around to face Minghao.

“Is something the matter?” he asks softly, almost so softly he has to strain to hear his own words; his own voice. He can’t quite read Minghao’s expression, so all he can really hope is that whatever he’s come to say isn’t anything bad. He can see the uncertainty in his eyes. “If you wish to say something, it is quite alright to do so.” He hopes the assurance is enough to rid the uncertainty; he wouldn’t have said anything if there was a possibility of it not, though. 

“You’re going up there?”

“That was my intention, yes. Why, Captain?”

He hasn’t called Minghao that before, despite that being his position on the ship. There wasn’t any exact reason except for the fact that he never felt he needed to. The surprise on Minghao’s face when he uses the word is momentary, but it’s there. Long enough for him to consider whether he should be using it more or not. Nobody else seemed to use the term, so he wasn’t sure. He had to admit, he preferred using Minghao’s name. He liked the way it rolled off his tongue; it seemed a better fit than the word ‘captain’.

Pulling himself together, Minghao clears his throat. “You know you don’t need to go back up there yet, right?”

“But it is not a requirement to remain down here either, correct?” 

Minghao’s brows furrow. “You don’t want to rest?”

“Not particularly. I would feel better up there. It would give off a better distraction as well,” he admits, subconsciously scratching at his cheek sheepishly. When he and Minghao lock gazes, it appears that the other understands what he means. Though what stands out more is the slight hint of worry in his eyes.

“Will you be able to get up there alright?” he asks. Ah, Woozi thinks. So that’s why he was worried. He tries to smile it off, but he can’t seem to.

“I hope so,” he says eventually, glancing up at the rope ladder. He wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to climb up there much less jump without falling. He was just hoping his body would cooperate. Once he was up there, he’d be okay; he wouldn’t move, so he’d be resting in his own way.

Minghao chuckles, earning his attention. “C’mon,” he says, already grabbing onto the ladder. “I’ll go with you.”

“Oh. There is really no need,” he starts, but his words are futile as Minghao is already making his way up. (“I’m going with you, Zi,” is what he says and is essentially what has him following. How could he argue when Minghao was shortening his name the way that he was? Plus, this way he’d have support when he needed to jump over.)

He almost falls, but Minghao’s quick, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the platform. “Gotcha,” he says with a quirk of his lips. He barely breaks a sweat lifting Woozi. With his feet solidly planted on flat ground (or what could substitute for flat ground in this sense), he releases a steady, relieved breath. 

“Thank you,” he says as he takes a step over to the telescope device. He curls a hand around the metal of the narrowed section where he usually put his face to and sucks in a breath. He can feel Minghao’s presence beside him, though he can also tell that he isn’t being looked at. Turning his head, he follows Minghao’s gaze out onto the ocean. Calm and steady. The ocean breeze is louder than ever tonight, the silence cutting it a close second. He wasn’t sure whether Minghao liked it, but he definitely did. There was a comfort to Minghao’s silences. Like no unnecessary words were being spoken. It made every conversation seem all the more important. 

Tonight, he felt like talking. Silence only reminded him of that cell; it made him feel alone and while he knew more than anyone else on this ship that he was not alone, the mind could be one of the biggest tricksters. The mind was dangerous, having the ability to convince one of things that could be deemed untrue and silly. So tonight, the last thing he wished was to be alone with his mind.

“Is it odd?” The words finally find a gap, slipping past his lips and strolling through the air for Minghao to process them. 

“Is what odd?” Minghao fires back, unable to take a guess at the numerous possibilities the question could be referring to.

“I wonder whether it is odd that, while I have no recollection of my past, I am almost certain I have never been out onto the ocean. Not the way I am now. And I cannot help but wonder if it is odd that, despite that, the ocean seems to be the most comforting place I could imagine right now.” His voice cracks, but he manages to cover it up with a clear of his throat. 

A chuckle fills the air; light and gentle, and in total agreement with what he’s just said. Minghao acknowledges him with a soft expression, one as gentle as his chuckle. “Why do you think I’m a pirate?” he asks, but the question doesn’t require an answer from Woozi but rather from Minghao himself. “I grew up on the ocean. So maybe my opinion is a bit biased, but I couldn’t imagine a place better than this.” 

He sort of understands. While he can’t remember anything, he can understand. To Minghao, the ocean is sentimental. It must be nice having something like that.

They sit like that for a while, staring out into the ocean without exchanging words. When Minghao has to take his turn in steering, he wishes Woozi a good sleep and makes his way down. It’s not even a moment later when Hoshi jumps over. He’s got that eye smile of his as he joins his side, resting his head against the wood. “I hope you don’t mind,” he says, turning to Woozi. “I’m gonna be a bother up here for the next few days.”

The corners of his lips quirk up. “I suppose it is okay."

Hoshi grins. “Good, because you don’t really have a choice.” 

Something in that should have bothered him; he should have a choice. Hoshi said it playfully though, and at the same time, him saying it didn’t bother him in the slightest. He actually didn’t mind having company. Especially someone like Hoshi who he knew would find a way to make conversation every chance he got. 

He needed that right now. 


	21. Chapter 21

Without fail, Hoshi came up each day. The trip to the city where they were collecting the item was a four day trip and so far, every chance he got, he showed up the first two days. By then they had tired every conversation topic possible, or at least, that was what he thought when day three popped up. They were sitting side by side, and Hoshi posed a question the rest of the crew have managed to avoid asking more so than usual as of late.

“Have you remembered anything since?” he asks nonchalantly.

“You mean with regards to my past, correct?” He’s thought a lot about this before. Wondering why he couldn’t remember anything. Wondering how it was possible to not know a thing about himself. “No, I do not. Which is odd. How is it possible to not remember anything when I know amnesia is not to blame for this.”

Hoshi laughs in a way that startles him. It’s short and rolls in between. There’s no words for him to describe it. Turning his head, he smiles at Woozi. “Dino said that to you, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Why? Was he lying?”

“No, no, it just sounds like something he would say. The way he said it.” Hoshi shifts his seating, the smile seeming to grow across his face. “You know, contrary to belief, the world is capable of a lot more than simplicities.” There’s this knowing look in his eye, like he’s never been more sure of anything in his life.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s implying magic,” a voice pipes in. When they turn their heads, they spot Joshua on the other side. He makes the jump, landing smoothly as he does. “The sort of stuff people believe to be impossible.”

“You mean to inform me that your belief regarding my missing memories is due to magic?”

“Yes.”

“Precisely.”

Hoshi and Joshua share a look, both grinning ear to ear when they realize how similar their answers are. Hoshi turns, the smile slightly fading, but still present. “I believe so, but my belief is that your memories were not just randomly taken, but rather for your own safety.”

The way Hoshi speaks is like he knows exactly what he’s talking about. Woozi wants to be suspicious of him, but how can he be if this is their first time meeting (of course, if they ever met in the past, he would have no recollection) and how could he be suspicious if Hoshi is part of the crew? His home is on water. Whatever Woozi’s past is, he’s certain Hoshi can’t have had anything to do with his memories going missing.

“Well, I will not deny the possibility. But if magic is only a belief, then what about the others? Do they know of it? Do they believe in it?”

“Sort of,” Hoshi replies without missing a beat. He’s managed to not once look away since this conversation started; his gaze is intense. “Their beliefs vary. Some fully believe in magic as they’ve witnessed it first hand while others have a belief without basis. They believe in the idea or possibility of magic.”

“What about the two of you? What are your beliefs?”

Joshua likes this question. It’s clear in his eyes. “The basis of my belief in magic is that I’ve bared witness to it.”

Hoshi likes the question even more. Except where the soft smile once was, a mischievous smile reigns. His eyes have turned a slight shade darker in the light and there’s this strong aura around him that has Woozi shuddering. “My category of belief isn’t there,” he says finally.

There’s a lot of words that hang in the air. Woozi can’t help but wonder, as he stares quietly at Joshua and Hoshi. The two stay there with him, falling into a new topic of conversation when Woozi doesn’t respond, but it’s the last thing on his mind—their conversation, that is. All that’s on his mind is Hoshi’s words and the meaning behind them.

Of course he struggles to grasp the concept of magic being real; he hasn’t seen it so it’s difficult to imagine. Nor has he heard mentions of magic. He wonders why that is. When the sky has darkened and it’s only Hoshi and him awake, he finds himself asking. “Why does nobody mention magic if they believe?” He turns to face Hoshi, though in the dark, it’s difficult to make out any of his features. “If you truly believe that could be the reason for my missing memories, then why not say a word of it before? Why wait until now to mention it?”

There’s a momentary silence where Hoshi has this grim look on his face. It’s clear he was waiting for this question; he knew it would come up. Pressed against the wood, he tilts his head up to take in the sky.

At night, when Woozi was up here alone, he’d do the same. Take a look up at the sky and admire the stars. How you were able to see them all so well out here on the ocean; he would play connect the dots by himself. In the town, you couldn’t see it. The towns were too bright. Another reason he liked the sea.

“Magic is seen as a danger,” he says, scoffing softly. “Isn’t that the way it always is? All the stories you hear, it’s always magic that’s a danger.” Pressing his hands flat against the ground, he adjusts himself to sit up straighter. “Magic is forbidden unless you work for the royal bloodline. If you’re caught practicing magic and you don’t work for them, you can get a pretty heavy penalty.”

“How heavy?” his voice has softened. He hates it. He hates how there are all these rules for the royal bloodline that seem to put anyone below them at a disadvantage. Like they’re not in a position to have rights.

“Nobody has practiced magic openly since the last penalty. It was a good couple of years ago, so the penalty could have changed over time.” He releases a sigh, shoulders slumping. “Back then, it was the death penalty.”

Woozi doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t think he should and he doesn’t plan to say anything, but Hoshi nudges his shoulder and urges him to speak. Once again he finds himself unable to deny him.

“When you said your category was not there,” he starts, avoiding looking at Hoshi. “Were you implying that your belief is on the basis of the practice itself?”

Hoshi’s eyes are, in that moment, a solid black. Dark as night. It’s scary, for a moment, but then that moment ends as a smile creeps across his face.

“Not bad, Zi, not bad.”

It’s the last thing Hoshi says. In the blink of an eye, he’s disappeared and Woozi is left with that suspicious feeling churning in his chest. To calm himself, he lays down, knees up, and stares up at the stars. He connects the dots until his eyes are fluttering shut and sleep is hugging him warmly. 


	22. Chapter 22

“We’ve arrived!” It’s the loudest he’s heard Minghao, who he’s decided can be very soft-spoken majority of the time. Of course, when he needed to break past that, he could do it with ease. He and Scoups are already preparing to leave. 

They gesture for everyone to make their way to the deck where they join hands. This time, Joshua is included in their little ‘return’ ceremony. As they pull their hands apart, a chorus of ‘return safely’ echoes through the ship. The words continue lingering even as they’re long gone from the ship. 

“They will be alright, correct?” he asks with a murmur. 

Vernon casts him a glance. “You don’t trust them?”

“I do,” he insists quickly, spinning around to face him. 

“Then why…” Vernon trails off, head tilting up slightly as realization settles in his eyes and a wide grin takes over his face. It’s the smile that shows off his gums; it makes him seem so much younger as his eyes light up. “You’re worried?” He turns back, looking in the direction the two disappeared off to before looking at him again. “You don’t have to worry, you know?”

“I do not?”

“We pirates can take care of ourselves after all.” The others have dispersed and now it’s just the two of them on deck. Everyone else went with Mingyu to the kitchen, claiming they needed to be fed. The response itself has him questioning. As much as he never really thought about it, he failed in trying not to think about it. It crossed his mind every now and again. Pirates had a name to them, that much was clear. All of them were considered bad people, and while this crew in particular were not those of sort, he wondered if they fought. Sure they didn’t carry around swords like the guards, but once in Minghao’s little room, he caught sight of one by the bed. It had been his first time here. At the time, he probably had a similar view on pirates. He thought it was expected of them to have these swords in the loop of their belt or that they carried them around. Now, he knows they hardly carry it around as to avoid drawing any more attention to themselves than they already do. That doesn’t mean they won’t carry anything around. For all he knew, they had weapons on them in the event they would need it. 

All of this runs through his mind once he’s processed Vernon’s words. It runs through his mind the way it always has, but once he chooses not to ask. 

He takes a seat beside Vernon. “How long do you propose we will be in the town for?” he murmurs, seeming to effectively shift the focus of their topic. Vernon seems to note it too, but rather than pointing it out, he just smiles.

“Hopefully long enough.” 

There’s something in his words; something that goes unspoken. He knows better than to ask so they sit there, in silence, until Vernon brings up another topic. Like Hoshi, they seem to cover various topics in the time that Scoups and Minghao are gone. Except he was used to Hoshi talking to him. What he wasn’t used to was Vernon willingly sitting by him and talking to him let alone starting the conversation himself. A little burst of excitement formulates a smile on his face. He knows all too well that had it been days ago when he was first on the ship, this wouldn’t be happening. Somehow, between then and him being captured, something changed and he definitely was not complaining. 

It’s almost an hour later when Minghao shows up. He doesn’t climb aboard, but hangs along the side of the ship as he speaks to them. Vernon’s already standing, looking at him expectantly which elicits a chuckle out of Minghao.

“I have to go back to Seungcheol. He’s sorting out some paperwork.” His gaze shifts over to Vernon. “We’ll be here for the whole day, so you guys can have a look around town if need be. Just make sure there are at least two people who stay here.” He starts to descend when something pops into his head. 

“Don’t let anyone be captured this time.” He catches sight of a teasing smile before he disappears from their sight. 

He would be staring longer had it not been for Vernon who, in all his abrupt excitement, clutches both of his hands. He cast his eyes on him and there’s a momentary shock. If he thought Vernon seemed happy before, he seems even happier now. His smile has somehow widened and there’s an ear splitting grin across his face. 

“Please, will you go with Dino and myself?”

“I’m going somewhere?” Dino asks, as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment. Though his expression shows that he already knows the answer. He’s looking at Woozi the same way Vernon had been looking at Minghao; with all this expectation he wasn’t sure where it was originating from. 

He looks back at Vernon when he feels his hands being shaken lightly. There’s a silent plea in his eye. Not desperation but a pure, genuine plea. Woozi agrees easily.

As they’re making their way off the ship, the rest of the crew wish him good luck and soft cheers. Halfway up to the town, he looks at Dino.

“I have never seen him this excited,” he murmurs. Vernon hasn’t stopped smiling.

Dino joins him in smiling, a gentle look cast Vernon’s way. “I don’t blame him.”


	23. Chapter 23

Confusion.

That’s all that he feels when they arrive at a little bakery near the entrance of the town. It was a path away and probably the closest of any of the businesses. The buildings surrounding it were houses, though as they took a turn into this particular path, Woozi was able to make out the blacksmith a little higher up and he caught sight of a delivery boy making his way out of one of the paths across from the blacksmith. 

When he looked to Dino in question, he only smiled as Vernon braced himself for whatever reason had brought them here. He steps in, Dino and Woozi following closely behind. A little bell chimes their arrival. 

The place is cute. With seats to his right and a little counter separating the workspace from the eating space. A door leading to what he imagined was the kitchen was near the start of the counter. To his right are tables full of displays; freshly baked breads, little cakes, buns, dumplings and all sorts of other pastries. It took all of his effort to turn away; it looked so good, that he suddenly felt a little hungry. 

A boy steps out, seeming to have heard the bell and is about to greet them when he lifts his head and his eyes light up. “Vernonnie?”

In the blink of an eye, the boy has rounded the counter and he and Vernon are embracing each other tightly. They pull apart, Vernon grinning the way he was when they left. “Hey, Kwannie —  Ow!” The boy, glaring at Vernon, hits him on his arm. Vernon stares at him in disbelief.

“I missed you, fool,” the boy grumbles. “Were you ever planning on writing back to me? Huh, huh — ”

“Of course I was, Kwan,” Vernon interrupts, unfazed by the boy’s clear annoyance. He seems to be used to it by now, which makes Woozi wonder how long they’ve known each other. Vernon releases a sigh. “Now will you shut up and hug me again please?” 

The boy doesn’t need to be told twice as he pulls Vernon into another hug, this one seemingly tighter than the last. He’s shorter than Vernon, his head tucking into the nape of Vernon’s neck. When they pull apart, the boy turns around with a clap of his hands and a small smile. “Channie, nice to see you again.” His gaze flickers over to Woozi, analyzing him in one sweep. “I’m Seungkwan,” he says, extending his hand. 

“Woozi,” he responds, accepting his hand. “It is nice to meet you.” 

Seungkwan grins. “You’re adorable. How old are you?”

Woozi falters for a moment, his body freezing as the question rings in his mind. Vernon, who seems to have caught himself, places a hand on Seungkwan’s shoulder and starts to pull him back. “Kwan — ”

“Twenty-four.”

Dino and Vernon’s heads whip around to look at him. Surprise is a clear emotion etched into their faces, but Woozi ignores it. Instead, he and Seungkwan keep a hold of each other’s gazes. Disbelief morphs Seungkwan’s expression. “You’re older than me?” he demands, eyes wide. “You sure don’t look like it.” 

“I suppose not,” he murmurs. 

There’s a clatter somewhere in the back, diverting everyone’s attention to that particular direction. Seungkwan suddenly exclaims, grabbing hold of Vernon’s hand and gesturing for Dino and Woozi to follow. His apron ties swing behind him like a tail. 

“Mom made some cakes. These are the pastries.” He’s guided them to a table, shifting between the counter and where they’ve all taken a seat as he delivers each item of food he announces. He moves swiftly as he places an assortment of dumplings, cakes and little pastries onto a plate that he slides in front of Vernon. “Eat.”

“Kwannie,” Vernon groans, though he doesn’t look like he’s about to protest. 

“Mingyu may feed you, but you occasionally need a snack,” he states. His eyes skim over the food before he looks to Dino and Woozi. “You two go ahead and eat too.”

They don’t question him. The pastries are amazing; unlike anything he’s eaten before. He thought a great feast would be having Mingyu’s food and it being followed by Seungkwan’s mother’s goodies. They eat away before falling into conversation. Every time Seungkwan tries to ask Woozi something regarding his past (what he was doing before they joined, did he prefer this life, does he know how is parents are, where did he grow up and all sorts of questions because clearly Seungkwan was a talker), Dino and Vernon managed to avert the topic. 

It’s hours later when the bell jingles. 

“Thought I’d find you here,” Minghao comments, walking in with a smile. 

“Hao!” Seungkwan cheers in greeting, waving frantically. 

“Hey, Kwannie.” Minghao’s smile remains intact. “Sorry, but I’m gonna need to collect the boys.” He genuinely looks apologetic. He stops behind Woozi’s chair, watching as Seungkwan and Vernon stand up. They excuse themselves and head off to the other side of the bakery, a small conversation going on. He can’t tell from their faces how the actual conversation is going. Whether they’re sad or upset. He wishes he knew, but at the same time, he doesn’t. Looking away, he sighs. 

“They’re together,” Minghao says softly. Woozi looks up in surprise. “Hardly get to see each other, but somehow they’ve made it work.”

“It must be extremely tough,” he murmurs. 

Minghao smiles tightly. “Definitely. But I think they’ll be okay.” 

When Vernon rejoins them, he and Dino step out. Woozi waits for Minghao, but he seems unmoving. When he looks, he sees Seungkwan gripping onto the sleeve of Minghao’s shirt. His hand is shaking and he looks as if he’s about to burst into tears at any second. 

“Hyung — ”

“Kwan, he loves you. We love you. That’s why you need to stay here.” Minghao’s voice is firm, his stance backing up his words. “You can’t come with us.”

“I could be helpful, hyung.”

Minghao releases a sigh. With a single movement, he moves Seungkwan’s hand off his arm and his other hand rests on Seungkwan’s shoulder. “You could get  _ hurt _ . And then your mom will hate us, and Vernon will resent us for ever agreeing to let you on board.”

Pulling away from Minghao’s touch, Seungkwan lowers his head. “I just miss him.”

“Kwannie.” Seungkwan looks at Minghao. “When a day comes that it’s safe, you can come with us. Okay?”

Seungkwan nods, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he watches as Minghao turns around, hand brushing along Woozi’s arm as he guides him toward the door. They falter in their steps at the sound of Minghao’s name being called.

“Just keep him safe. And fed.” 

The corners of Minghao’s lips pull up. “Always.” With one final exchange of goodbyes, they step outside. Vernon and Dino are waiting across the road. When they fall into step with them, Vernon’s first words are an apology. 

“He asked again, didn’t he?”

“He misses you,” Minghao defends.

“I miss him too, but — ”

“He understands, Vernon.” His tone is gentle as he looks at Vernon. “He understands. So, don’t worry okay? We’ll try not to keep you apart for this long again.”

Vernon nods. As they make their way over, Dino spares Minghao a few glances, an unspoken question in his gaze. Minghao catches him and rather than pretending he wasn’t looking, Dino sighs.

“So, what’s the delivery?”

Minghao’s lips press into a line, expression grim. “I don’t know.” 


	24. Chapter 24

There’s a large box in the middle of the deck. Square in shape, but nevertheless large. He was taller than it at the very least. It looked very uninviting.

“You mean to say that you have absolutely no idea as to what this is nor what it contains?” Woozi turns to Minghao who has yet to say anything. Ever since their walk, he hasn’t said anything other than ‘I don’t know’. Woozi wanted to ask him about it, but he chose to wait. When they boarded, a silence hummed through the air as everyone took in the box. It was a complete mystery. It looked harmless, but then again, so did every other crate he’d seen in the docks and for all they knew, it could contain something that got them arrested. Nevermind the fact that the people they agreed to do the trade for refused to tell them a thing about the item.

“I don’t,” he admits.

“They wouldn’t tell us,” Scoups says from beside Minghao. “Just said it needed to be delivered to the main city as soon as possible.” Scoups seems just as displeased as Minghao about this. His arms are crossed over his chest as he eyes the box. “And we can’t open it to find out because they’ll know and we’ll get into trouble.”

“How much trouble could you get into when this is an illegal delivery in the first place?” Vernon shoots. His once earsplitting smile has long ago faded since they left. Woozi couldn’t imagine leaving someone he loved behind the way Vernon was doing. And every time? He doesn’t think he’d be able to bear it.

“This is an illegal delivery?” Woozi queries when he’s finally processed the words. He looks to the group, waiting to hear their response.

“Technically speaking, yes.” Minghao stares at him, face void of emotion as he continues. “We’re not a cargo ship. We’re not a delivery ship, so we’re not meant to be making any deliveries. That’s why we’re paid an extra amount than what they would be paying the delivery ships.”

“So the item itself—”

“We don’t ask questions if they don’t want us to,” Minghao confirms.

Dino, who has been observing their conversation and occasionally sparing the box a glance in between, clears his throat. He’s standing beside Scoups, arms crossed in a similar manner. “That’s sort of suspicious though, don’t you think?”

“Add to the matter that they paid us extra to ensure that, not only do we not ask questions, but we don’t say a word to anyone else about this delivery then yeah. Extremely suspicious,” Scoups comments.

“So then you’re not going to open it?” Joshua asks as he assesses the room. It’s not that he didn’t hear Minghao saying they weren’t going to open it, but more that he was looking to confirm this. With the hopeful look in his eye, Woozi suspects he wants Minghao to provide a better reason than them getting into trouble. One glance at Minghao, however, tells them it’s not enough to get him to speak. Which is probably what prompts Joshua to add on. “I doubt they will know. And if this is an illegal delivery, then surely the trouble you get into for opening the box won’t be able to measure up to the trouble you’re in if you’re caught in this illegal delivery.” Joshua’s reasoning is solid. Solid in a way that it makes sense. It’s not like he’s telling a lie either. Though Woozi isn’t sure whether it’s enough of a reason to open the box; as much as it was an illegal delivery, it still felt like an invasion of privacy.

“We’re not going to open it,” Minghao states. “As much as this delivery is illegal, we still abide by the basic human rights rules which means that we respect everyone’s privacy. We work on customer confidentiality. A non-disclosure agreement if you will. So no, once again, we will not be opening the box.” His gaze casts over the group, eyes analyzing each and every person as he turns around slowly. “The box will remain untouched until we arrive at the destination of its delivery.”

He walks up to the wheel, a nod in Joshua and Hoshi’s direction. The two proceed to make their way to the one side of the crate, dropping down paint, brushes and material that unrolls itself slightly at the drop.

“What is this for?” Woozi queries aloud, glancing up at Minghao who he has a sneaking suspicion instructed them to get these. Minghao’s lips quirk when they make eye contact.

“If we’re heading into the main city, we can’t go with the current flag we have or they’ll recognize it. So we’ll be making a new one.”

Mingyu eyes him. “By we, do you mean us and not you?”

“Seungcheol and I will switch steering so we can both help out with the flag.” A crooked smile wavers across his face, eyes shining. “After all, it is still our ship, right?”

They set to work on the new flag almost immediately. Every chance he has to stand still for a moment or just look up, he catches Joshua and Hoshi talking hushedly. He thinks nothing of it until one of the other crew members make their way over and their talking comes to an abrupt stop.

Brows lifting, he frowns curiously as he watches the two, but he doesn’t linger on it. Instead he decides to ignore it for now, until the flag is complete. Even then, he’s not sure whether he’ll even approach them about it. 


	25. Chapter 25

Despite the fact that the paint couldn’t really be seen in his bandages, knowing that they messed on it was enough for Woozi to want clean bandages. He was almost complete with his part when Dino said he should change them. They started coming undone and he needed to keep them over his wrists. Both Dino and Vernon assured him it would be okay. Said they would be fine finishing up, as everyone dispersed not too long ago. With that, he has nothing to protest and so he makes his way down to the lower deck.

He’s about to round the corner to medbay when he hears the soft murmurs of a conversation. Peaking out, he catches sight of Hoshi and who he presumes to be Joshua. He has to step closer and strain his ears to make out the conversation. (Sure he felt bad for eavesdropping, but the two had been acting fairly suspicious lately and he couldn’t just watch it go on without knowing what their conversations were about.)

“You knew from the beginning?” It’s Hoshi talking. He’s got this look of disbelief across his face and his words are pressed, almost demanding. Demanding that what he said just now be a lie or a joke. Demanding it not be the truth.

Joshua, who looks incredulously at Hoshi, steps closer. “Of course I knew. I knew as soon as I realized he didn’t recognize me. Why else do you think I tagged along?”

“Incentives.”

When Joshua scoffs, everything inside Woozi tenses up. It’s something he doesn’t expect, especially from Joshua who seemed like the last person who would do that. “You sound like your captain,” he mutters. He turns to face Hoshi again, standing so they’re centimetres apart. “Why doesn’t he remember anything?”

“Because he needed to be protected,” Hoshi hisses.

He can’t stand back and listen anymore. Without second guessing, he steps out from behind the wall and approaches them. “Who are you two speaking about?” he demands, fists curling at his sides in anticipation for their answers. The two whip around to face him. The surprise etched into their faces and the slight fear in Hoshi’s eyes are enough indication that they’ve been caught in a conversation that shouldn’t have been overheard.

“Woozi—”

“Do you two know who I am?” he queries, cutting Joshua off. They look taken aback, but neither of them say a word. He’s about to add on when Hoshi grabs onto their wrists and tugs them into medbay. The room is empty save for them who just entered. The door closes behind them.

Woozi doesn’t waste any time. “I need you two to answer me. Do you know who I am?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Somehow, he knows Hoshi is lying. The way he looks at Joshua like he’s just lost his mind may be a contributing factor and one of the more major giveaways. The other major contributing factor being that he’d overheard their conversation. It was clear that while the two hadn’t known each other, somehow they both knew him. The fact that Hoshi was lying despite him being the one who seemed to know something about his memory loss.

Woozi huffs unintentionally. “If you know who I am, why not say anything? Why not tell me?”

“I figured there was a reason you don’t remember everything,” Joshua admits timidly.

“I am sitting here without a clue as to who I am. You do not understand how frustrating it is to not know yourself and meanwhile, you two have known me this entire time. Supposing there is a reason is no excuse.” He turns his attention over to Hoshi without missing a beat. “Who am I?”

There’s a pleading look across his face. Hoshi places both hands on Woozi’s shoulders and he squeezes gently. “Because it is not safe for you yet, Woozi. When it is safe, I’ll gladly tell you.”

“Then tell me how. You can surely do that at least.”

“How what?” Hoshi looks at him sceptically. Like he didn’t think it would be that easy. Well, neither did he. Frankly, he wanted to hang on more, but there was another question plaguing his mind that he thought would be easier for Hoshi to answer.

“How is it that I do not remember anything?” he asks finally.

Hoshi’s lips curl slowly across his face. It’s the same smile he had when they had their conversation on the different beliefs of magic; the different basis. Watching him, he knows this is most likely going to be the answer and while that’s okay, he wishes it wasn’t the answer.

“The only way possible, really,” he says, a sparkle in his eye. “Magic.”

Of course he’s wrong because of course that's the answer. 


	26. Chapter 26

The door to medbay creaks open, Mingyu's head peeking in. A quizzical look crosses his face as his eyes take in the three of them. Since their conversation, they haven't left. Woozi took a seat on the bed, staring blankly at the ground while Joshua went to rest on the other one. All the while, Hoshi stood near one of the cabinets quietly.

"Is everything okay?" Mingyu asks aloud when none of them turn his way. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. We were actually about to come down," Hoshi responds cheerily. Far too cheerfully for the conversation they just had. Woozi finds it remarkable that he's able to switch his emotions like a switch. It would definitely be an effective skill to have.

Mingyu's face fills with relief. "Great. 'Cause the food is done."

They start to move when Hoshi stops, turning around to look at Woozi who hasn't moved along with them. He shoots him a questioning look to which Woozi lifts his wrists in the air. "Need to change the bandages," he says. "Covered in paint."

Seeming to understand, Hoshi nods and steps out. He's just gotten up and found the bandages when the door opens again, Dino walking in. He walks over to the cabinet, eyes shifting over to Woozi who groans softly in his struggle to wrap the new bandages around his wrist. With a smile, Dino approaches him, hands held out to offer assistance. Knowing he's not going to be winning on his own any time soon, he accepts gratefully. Every time he watches Dino work his way around the medbay, it only makes him realize how much he belongs in the position he's in. Anywhere else and in any other position, he doesn't think it would work out as well.

"Dino," he starts, words slipping past his lips before he can so much as grasp that he has done it. Dino looks up and he has no other choice but to continue. "May I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure." His smile brightens curiously. "What's up?"

"Do you know who I am?"

Startled. It's the best way to describe his expression at that moment. Startled, which means he either knows something or he genuinely has no idea why he's being asked. "Why—"

"You told me not to take these off," he cuts him off smoothly. Any possible lies or excuses that could have followed being cut off with it. "No matter what. So, I ask again, do you know who I am?"

"I have an idea," he admits after a moment.

"But you cannot tell me."

With a shake of a head, Dino confirms his suspicions. His brows crease apologetically, and he's about to say something, maybe apologize, but Woozi doesn't want to hear it. So rather than hearing it, he smiles politely.

"Thank you for your assistance. I should be going."

"Are you not going to eat anything?"

"I am not entirely up for it. I am not hungry, so it is okay," he assures softly. With a final greeting to Dino, he makes his way out. Going up to the upper deck and climbing up to the watchtower. When he lands, he freezes on the spot as he catches sight of Minghao seated on the floor, back against the wood and head tilted up to the sky.

There are two plates of food rested on either leg. When he looks up, he's got the faintest of smiles across his face. "I figured you'd come up here." With one hand, he gestures to the plates. Woozi has no idea how on earth he could have gotten them up here, but he doesn't ask.

Sitting down, he accepts the plate Minghao offers him and murmurs a soft thank you. He's almost ready to take a bite when Minghao stands up and looks like he's going to leave. Of course, he didn't want to eat alone, and maybe that's what prompts him to speak up. "Would you care to eat with me?"

"Are you sure?"

"I would greatly appreciate it."

That's all the convincing he seems to need as he sits down beside him and starts eating. They eat together in silence, but it's all the company he needs. He's glad Minghao showed up here because he was hungrier than he cared to admit. He only told Dino he didn't want to because he wasn't sure he could sit with Hoshi and Joshua at the moment. Peeking over at Minghao, he recalls the thing he remembered back in the bakery.

"How old are you?"

"Me?" Surprise is audible in his tone; it's probably the last question he expected Woozi to ask. "I'm twenty-three."

Woozi hums in thought. Lifting his head, he looks up to the sky. "Back in town, Seungkwan asked me." He pauses, glancing over at Minghao. "I am twenty-four."

The surprise that had been in his tone shifts through to his expression. "You remember your age?"

"It is all I can remember," he admits.

"Yeah, but at least it's something. Age can tell us a lot about the lives we lived." He's murmuring softly.

"I do not—" He doesn't have a chance to finish as he's cut off.

"You lived a tough life, but somehow you're still going." He gestures with a hand to Woozi's face. "Can see it in your eyes too. It's usually a great combination to be able to know the life people lived."

For a long moment, he processes the words. He contemplates the thoughts that have been hiding out in his mind since he woke on the little rowboat. Lips pursed, he looks up for a moment, watching the sea as it flows smoothly. Finally, his lips pull tightly to his cheeks, still pressed tightly together and he turns to Minghao.

"May I tell you something?"

"Yeah, go for it," Minghao encourages softly. He looks expectant; a look Woozi knows will disappear as soon as he says what he's thinking.

"I do not think I am meant to be alive."


	27. Chapter 27

“The new flag looks nice up there,” Woozi compliments. 

After their conversation last night, Minghao wanted to know why Woozi felt that way and that was where the conversation ended; where he needed to end it before he revealed too much. In order to tell him that, he’d need to reveal the mark on his wrist and he’s been told enough times to know that thought shouldn’t even be considered. Somewhere after that, he’d dozed off despite not feeling tired. By the time he woke up, the new flag was already up.

“It almost makes me want to keep it around,” Scoups comments from down below. He glances at Minghao who was steering the ship. “Right, Hao?”

“Sure,” he responds absentmindedly. “If it helps you sleep at night.”

Vernon, who somehow made his way up to the watchtower and was inches away from Woozi, shoulders brushing against each other every few seconds, watches them. “So, what’s the plan, captain?”

“Cheol and I are going to meet up with the people. Bring them to collect their cargo once we receive the cash.” He glances over at the crew briefly before his eyes flicker forward. “We’re not going to linger for any longer than we should seeing as it’s the main city. So, whatever you do, don’t leave the ship, alright?”

There’s a hum of agreement through the ship. 

When they arrive in the main city, they do the little greeting before Minghao and Scoups leave. This time as they leave, everyone watches until they’re out of sight. Looking around, he catches their worried expressions and the nervousness wafting its way through the air. He can only imagine how nerve wracking it must be for them to be in the main city. They were in the city where all prisoners got taken to; the city where guards roaming the streets were as common as the citizens roaming. Where, if they were found out to be who they really are, they could be captured in seconds flat without having so much as a say.

He hoped and prayed Minghao and Scoups made it back in one piece. 

“I have an idea of why we may not leave, but would you mind actually telling me the reason?” he queries, glancing at Vernon who has not moved from his side. The boy looks at him with a stunned expression, like he can’t believe this is an actual question. But as soon as it comes, it disappears as understanding takes its place.

“It’s the main city,” he starts off, looking back out onto the very city he was referring to. Rather than the ship being undercover, they were out in the open, placed between other ships that rested in the docks. Vernon’s eyes grazed the area, lingering on every boat as they did. “The palace is here. Guards are roaming. One wrong move and that could be it for us.”

Absentmindedly, against his own will, Woozi murmurs, “They wanted to transfer me here.” As much as he expected not to be heard, the ship fell to an eerie silence as everyone turned to look at him. Somehow, in that moment, he’d ended up being so much louder than he intended and everyone seemed to hear. 

Vernon’s brows pull up toward his forehead. “Who?”

“The guards,” he says simply. “They were going to transfer me here.”

Joshua, who was closest to them than everyone else on deck, pipes in. “They do that to all of the prisoners. That’s how I knew where you would be.”

“But why?” Vernon demands, looking at Joshua in a way as if it were his fault. Joshua knows that isn’t what Vernon thinks and remains unphased. 

“Well,” Joshua starts, but he doesn’t finish. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to either. He’s eyes are moving side to side in a way that tells them the answer is definitely something they don’t want to hear. 

“They would have killed me here, would they not have?” he asks softly, looking at Joshua expectantly as he waits for a response. He somehow knows that’s the answer. When Joshua nods, dread starts to fill him. Knowing he could have died here does not settle well.

“But we got you in time,” Joshua reminds them. “Now we just stay hidden in plain sight until they’re done.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not being all that active lately. Guess you could say I took my little Christmas break. 
> 
> I just wanted to write this little author's note to say that to any readers who celebrated Christmas, I hope you guys had a wonderful day and I especially hope you all are keeping safe. To everyone, I wish you happy holidays and I'll see you for the next 2 chapters <3

Scoups and Minghao haven’t returned yet. While it hasn't been that long, they've been out in the open for far longer than he's able to recall them ever being. The fact that it's only been a few hours has the crew antsy. Not knowing how the deal is going. Vernon's been pacing, still standing beside him up top. From here, he could see how Dino walked back and forth from one point of the ship to another, clear worry written across his face. Mingyu disappeared with Hoshi to lower deck an hour ago, but when Hoshi resurfaced, Mingyu hadn't followed. Nobody asked where he was, though. They all kept silent. 

So far, they'd managed to avoid any contact with people. Of course, it could only be kept up for so long. 

“Good day, there!” someone yells from below. Peeking down, he makes out a guy of average height, dressed head to toe in the same armour and clothing that he’s seen other guards wear. Unlike the others, his sword is more noticeable, pushed through a loop near his waist. His hair sticks out, a fluffy brown that reminds Woozi of a poodle. “Who are you all?”

“Delivery men,” Vernon responds, amplifying his voice to be heard over the noise of the city.

“I presume the reason behind your arrival is then a delivery?” the guy queries, eyes raking over the entirety of the ship. He stands alone, no other guards by his side. With a tilt of his head, he considers Vernon for a moment. “And how long will you be here in the city?”

“Not long. Just doing the delivery,” Vernon assures. He speaks in a way as if he’s lying despite the fact that those words could not be more true than ever. The guard clearly appears suspicious, with the way his eyes take in the ship immediately after Vernon’s finished speaking. Occasionally, he’ll glance up at them in wonder, but he won’t say anything. Woozi wants to know, more than anything, what the guard is thinking. But that requires speaking and right now, he doesn’t think he should be speaking to a guard. Especially with the way they could start asking questions. He wasn’t confident in being able to lie through his teeth.

“If you are a delivery ship as you claim to be” The way he says this has Vernon’s entire face shifting; annoyance rings clear in his eyes. The guard, of course, doesn’t really notice this, continuing to speak. “Then you must have a cargo license. May I see it?”

“Cargo license?” Vernon scrambles to think of something. He’d help, but if Vernon doesn’t know what he’s talking about, how could Woozi possibly know?

“A permit, if you will,” the guard suggests.

Lost. It’s the first thing that comes to his mind when he looks at Vernon this time around. His eyes are flickering around as he tries to figure out how to respond.

“We’ve got a permit,” a voice says from below, shattering the distraughtness Vernon found himself in. Minghao and Scoups approach, wide smiles across their faces. It must have gone well, he thinks, as a bunch of men make their way onto the ship and start loading the box off. The guard stands by, despite his previous attempts in getting the permit. He would have assumed the guard wouldn’t let them take it without them flashing their permit, but he supposes he’s wrong.

“Show it to me,” the guard says finally, once the group has hauled the box onto something akin to a travelling cart. It’s a lot bigger, of course and seems able to carry the large box and whatever contents it held. He watches as they leave.

“I have it on the ship. Give me a moment and I’ll bring it to you,” Minghao says, voice pulling Woozi out of his state.

Minghao disappears into the little room and a moment later, reappears with papers in hand. Scoups hasn’t moved from his spot beside the guard and soon, Minghao joins them, passing the papers to him.

It’s a nerve-wrecking moment of silence. All they can do is watch as the guard flips through the papers, eyes skimming over the words as he assesses the permit. As if he doesn’t believe them, which Woozi can understand. He’s almost sure the permit’s a fake. They weren’t a delivery ship after all.

The sound of the paper slapping together surprises him; he didn’t expect it to be that loud, but when he looks at the guard, he can tell the sound was made on purpose. There’s this knowing look in his eyes, a smile curving onto his face. It’s unsettling. It felt like there was something behind the smile; something that wasn’t being said. Like an inside joke that all of them were about to be let in on if only they were that lucky.

“Well done,” the guard says. Looking up, his eyes have turned fierce. With a hand, he signals and a few other guards start to approach. “Almost had us fooled.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Minghao says, even as a guard grabs his arm and pulls it until his hand is touching his back. He tries to fight the guard off, but that only has the guard adding extra force onto him.

“The Drifters, right?” That same smile suddenly has him feeling sickly. An unsettling feeling churns his stomach. In the blink of an eye, a guard is placing their hands on him, forcing him to turn around. The guard smiles as he makes eye contact with him. “Nice name. Has a nice ring to it.”

They’re being forced to walk. Being taken off the ship. He wants to fight the guard off, but he knows it won’t end well. His bandages are already coming undone with the way they’ve been pulling. When the one completely comes off and the guard that has practically tied down sees that there isn’t anything particularly wrong with him, he asks Woozi to take the other one off. Not having another choice (seeing as he didn’t want them taking it off by force), he removes it. Right as he does, the guard grabs both wrists behind his back and cuffs him. The rest of the crew have already been cuffed. Occasionally, Hoshi and Joshua glance at him, concern in their eyes, but he pretends not to notice. Not even when Dino, who was beside him, tried to say something—the guard didn’t like that very much as he shoved Dino forward.

He was shaking as they walked, and it made him a little glad that everyone was too preoccupied with their own guard to pay any attention; nobody noticed he was shaking. Whether it was out of fear or something else, he wasn’t sure.

“Do we get a hearing?” Minghao asks, somewhere near the back. Woozi looks at him and in the brief moment of silence, they lock eyes and Minghao flashes him a reassuring smile. His heart tugs.

“No,” the guard (who kindly informed them as they were being led off the ship went by the name of Seokmin) says firmly. He’s right in front, leading the guards. He isn’t keeping hold of any of the crew mates. Woozi has to wonder why he’s here then, if not for that. A set of keys jingles across his hip. “You’re going straight to the prison.”

That same unsettling feeling stirs inside of him, but this time, there’s the unmistakable chill and the prickly feeling flowing through him as fear makes himself known. He feels cold.

While he’d like to hold onto any ounce of hope, all he can feel is the impending sense of doom. He doesn’t like it. 


	29. Chapter 29

It's a longer walk than he originally anticipated. His legs are aching, but the last thing he's about to do is complain. Not that the guards will respond.

Every time a question was asked, Seokmin answered; the rest of them kept quiet as they shoved them forward. An extra shove if they started walking too slow and a tug back if they were faster than the guard tailing them. It was exhausting, trying to match the speed of everyone else, but he was trying his best.

"But why are we not facing the king and queen?" Woozi asks when another moment of silence encompasses them. He still didn't like the silence. Still wasn't entirely fond of it. "Why are we being taken straight to prison rather than having a hearing?"

"We wouldn't be better off seeing them face to face anyway," Vernon mutters. Somewhere between getting off the ship and wherever they were now, he and Dino managed to switch places. Dino was now walking somewhere near the front beside Scoups while Vernon walked beside him.

They haven't crossed any citizens. The guards were leading them down odd alleys and thinner paths where they were out of sight. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Our orders specify all pirates and illegal trades to be taken to prison without question. We're not in a position to argue nor question these orders," Seokmin informs stiffly. Something in his tone tells him that he doesn't particularly agree with these orders. Which is something he didn't expect. Woozi always thought all guards just agreed with their orders or the law, but watching the way Seokmin's face shifted as he spoke, he realized how wrong he could be.

"Then did we need to be cuffed?" Woozi queries again. It's clear nobody else is looking to have conversation so he might as well ask the questions that are popping into his head.

"All prisoners are cuffed," Seokmin answers again. "So that you're not a danger to the citizens—"

"There are literally no citizens around," Mingyu points out, cutting the guard off. "You're taking us down some other path."

Seokmin shoots him a look that immediately shuts Mingyu up. "Or a danger to us," he finishes where he left off, as if he hadn't been cut off in the first place.

He doesn't know how long they've been walking, but they're slowing down. From where they are, he can make out the palace and it's huge. So much bigger than he expected it to be. It's a brief moment before they're shoved forward and the palace disappears from his site. Taking a turn, they're ushered in a single file into the big brick building and without having to ask, he knows this is where they hold their prisoners.

Two guards stand at the ready, taking them on one by one and leading them to a cell. They're not even getting put into separate ones; they're all being shoved into one tiny cell. When he asks why, his entire being freezes. He stills at the sound of 'punishment' because the moment he hears the word, a ton of images flood his mind. Hundreds upon hundreds of possibilities, yes, but with the 'crimes' they're being locked up for, an anchoring feeling hits his gut. He knows they'll get the worst of it. Death or life in prison. Torture. Something along those lines. He doesn't know why he knows this but he does and he suddenly wishes he could do something. A strong sense of want fills him; the want to escape. To somehow save them. Get them as far away from here as possible.

He's pulled out of his thoughts as the guard shoves him over to one of the guards. He's the first one Woozi's seen to wear glasses, his black hair messy in a way that says he never touches it except to run his hand through it. His eyes are scarily dark.

The guard beside him is paler; brown hair and almost unrealistically pretty for a guard. He locks eyes with Woozi and a brief smile crosses his face before it disappears. He takes him by the arm, his touch so gentle that Woozi wonders if he's really a guard. Nevertheless, he guides him to the same cell. He's the last one being taken in; the other guard (Wonwoo, as Seokmin called him) has just put Mingyu in there, a lingering glance before he joins his guard friend (Jun, as Wonwoo just called him.)

Jun holds him by the arm as Wonwoo uncuffs him and Jun is just about to force him into the cell when Wonwoo stops him. It's one simple word, but everything in him goes cold.

"Wait," is all that Wonwoo says and then he's closing the distance between them. The sound of the handcuffs clattering to the ground echoes through the emptiness of the prison (which had him concerned when they walked in because where were all the prisoners? What happened to them? Why was it only them being sent to these cells?)

His hand is icy cold as he takes Woozi's wrist into his own; he must have seen it. The symbol, that is. Otherwise he definitely wouldn't be doing this. He brings Woozi's wrist close to his face and then there's a moment of silence. He's inspecting the symbol, turning Woozi's wrist every single possible direction. Minghao is telling him to leave Woozi be; to leave him unharmed. He hasn't realized that the last thing on Wonwoo's mind was hurting Woozi.

But Woozi himself realizes this. When he and Wonwoo lock gazes, that icy feeling is filled with a sudden warmth as relief hugs him. He's not going to hurt him.

"Jun, wait here with them," he says, but he hasn't even looked at Jun since he noticed the symbol. "He's coming with me."


	30. Chapter 30

Minghao protested. 

Woozi could hear his protests all the way back out of the prison building. It was only when the door shut that the protests were nullified. He could no longer hear them and while that would have scared him at any other point in time, he wasn’t scared now. 

Somehow, he trusted that whatever Wonwoo was going to do, it wasn’t going to harm him in any way. He wished more than anything that he could tell Minghao that. He wished he could tell Minghao he was in safe hands, but at the same time he knew that even if he was able to, Minghao would want to know how he could possibly know that. How he could possibly tell that this guard wasn’t going to hurt him or hand him over to anyone to be killed or hurt or anything remotely like that.

“Where are we going?” His voice comes out small. He barely catches it himself, but the words are out there now. With the silence between them, the only sounds are the faint distant chatter of the citizens, he knew it couldn’t have been missed. He watches Wonwoo who walks with his shoulders back and his head high, just like every other guard he’s seen. Except, despite his eyes being scarily dark, he appeared so much kinder in nature than those guards that laid a hand on him back in the last town.

“The palace,” he responds stiffly, voice almost completely monotonous. Out of the corner of his eye, he glances at Woozi who looks at him calmly, waiting to hear whether there was anything more he was going to add. Which is exactly what he does. His gaze shifts ahead of him as he says, “Something has been brought to my attention and I cannot have it wait.”

He pauses to consider the words being uttered. Watching him and the way he walks, he tries to get a hold of his thoughts, brows furrowing. “Does this have anything to do with what you have seen on my arm?” Somehow, he’s taken on a softer tone than before and he barely gets the words out in the first place, hesitation on each of them. He couldn’t really speak about it on the ship, so it felt taboo speaking about it now. 

Wonwoo doesn’t answer. Instead, he speeds up which forces Woozi to up his own pace. He’s almost jogging with the pace Wonwoo is going. Going down the same paths the guard had taken them when arriving at the prison, they hardly pass any citizens. Though the walk is a lot quicker than the walk from the ship to the prison itself, which is a little relieving. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make another walk like that. Not immediately. His legs were still trembling under his weight. 

In the blink of an eye, they’re walking through a gate Wonwoo opens; it’s not the front of the palace. They’re somewhere near the back and with closer inspection as he waits for Wonwoo to continue leading him, he suspects this to be a secret passage into the palace. One that only a handful of people would know, including guards working directly under the king and queen themselves. 

“This way,” is all he says and he’s walking again. So much walking that he hopes it’s worth it. The end destination, that is.

They’re in the palace. Walking down one corridor after another. It’s clear Wonwoo has been here many times before because he turns without hesitation. Taking in his surroundings, there’s a warm feeling in his chest. Something familiar tingling through him. It’s almost like he’s been here before, but he doesn’t think that could be possible. Out of all the possibilities of who he could be, palace guard had never struck him as a possibility. Palace guard is something he hopes he is not.

He’s led toward a set of double doors which Wonwoo pushes open. He follows closely behind and it takes a moment before his eyes are settling on the throne in the middle of the room near the back. Thrones, would be a more appropriate word, as there are three. 

Only one seat is occupied; the one in the middle and the tallest of the thrones. 

A male sits in a lazing position. A leg is thrown over his other and while he’s not slumped in the seat, he’s sitting far back with his chin resting in his hand. A mop of dark hair falls loosely into his face decorated with an expression he could only describe as bored. He turns his head slowly, eyes lazily taking the two of them in. There’s barely an inch of movement on his part, other than dropping his hand and lifting his head to acknowledge their presence with more than just his eyes. 

“To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” He queries, words drawled out as if the action of speaking was too much work.

“Sir — ”

“Who is this?” The man’s attention has now shifted onto Woozi, a spark of interest. the first emotion. that lights up his eyes. There’s something else there, but he can’t tell for sure what it is. Though it’s something similar to recognition which has him tensing up. Did this man know him somehow?

“He was with the crew we have arrested,” Wonwoo explains calmly. 

“So then why is he here?” The interest has disappeared, a fiery expression taking over his face. “Kill him along with the rest of the crew you’ve arrested — ”

“Mister Yoon,” Wonwoo interrupts, surprising the guy in the seat. Woozi’s head whips around so fast as he turns his attention to look at the guard. “He bears the mark.” Upon the confusion on Mister Yoon’s face, Wonwoo proceeds to explain. “The symbol. The crest of the royals. He bears the mark.” He looks to Woozi then, expectantly waiting and it takes him a little longer than he would care to admit before he realizes that’s his signal to show said mark. 

Holding out his wrist so that the symbol is visible, a medium sized and simple symbol in the middle of his wrist in dark black ink, he shows Mr Yoon who looks almost as surprised as Wonwoo had been when he first saw it. Unlike Wonwoo, however, he doesn’t move from his seat. He sits still. 

“Mister Yoon, you proclaimed that the entire bloodline to the throne passed on. That there was not one spared.”

“So?” He’s trying to play it off coolly, but it’s clear that this new information bothers him; having a potential heir to the throne standing right in front of him, in flesh and blood and clearly breathing, bothered him completely. It was more than just something that bothered him, though. He seemed to hate the idea.

“So what do you make of this? He bears the mark which indicates that he is the heir to the throne.” 

“So what of it?” Mister Yoon responds immediately with a wave of his hand. “For all you know, it is not authentic. Ask him something only an heir to the throne would know and then tell me if you truly believe this man to be the heir.”

“You mean to say the mark is a fraud?” 

“Dare you disobey your current king?” His brow quirks. He must be referring to himself, which would explain why he’s seated on the throne in the first place. While he looked as elegant as one would expect of a king, Woozi couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something that seemed off about it. 

Turning to face Woozi, Wonwoo releases a breath he was holding. When his eyes open, they’re fierce and pleading. “Please forgive me, but I am only fulfilling orders. Would you please recite the oath the royal bloodline made.”

“The oath?” he barely swallows back the stammer in his voice.

Wonwoo shoots him a questioning look. “The oath that the royal bloodline would know. That is integrated at a young age.”

He tries to think, but it’s pressurizing. Picking apart every section of his brain as he tries to recall the oath they were talking about. Whether he knew it or not was one problem on his own; if he had his memories, he’d be able to tell them whether he knew it or not. If he had his memories, it would probably be spilling out of his mouth before he could even think about it, if he knew it of course. He scrambles to think of it, to try and pry every door open until his memories come flooding, but it was useless.

All he drew was a blank.

Mister Yoon looks at him smugly as he leans back into his seat. “See? Cannot believe everything you see, Jeon.” With another nonchalant wave of his hand, he starts to close his eyes. “Take him away. Kill the whole lot of them.” And he understands why — why there were no prisoners. He understands what happened to them and it truly sickens him.

The hope that was once in Wonwoo’s eyes starts to fade as he grabs Woozi by the arm, his touch gentle compared to any other guard’s. He’s going to follow through with the orders he’s been given and it terrifies him. With a gentle shove, they start toward the double doors.

The very same double doors that push open with a bang as it hits the wall. As his eyes settle on the figure walking in, surprise flows through him like a fountain.

“Good day, your highness,” Hoshi says, but rather than looking at the man on the throne, his eyes are set on Woozi. “Sorry to keep you waiting."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally, chapter 30 was going to be the last, but as I was writing it, I realized the plan I had, it felt like a little TOO much to put into the last chapter so I've divided it. Whether chapter 31 will be the last or whether it will go up until chapter 32 will probably be decided when I've finished chapter 31 itself. 
> 
> BUT ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) <3 All my love to you readers <3


	31. Chapter 31

Hoshi ignores Mister Yoon, who clearly seems to know him with the way he demands to know what he's doing. He keeps asking, but Hoshi barely spares him a glance as he approaches Woozi, stopping a few feet away before bowing politely.

"What do you think you're doing?" Wonwoo queries, eyes shifting between Hoshi and Woozi as he tries to figure out what this situation was. "He isn't the prince"

"Does he bear the mark?" Hoshi interrupts with a smile. A smile that says he knows the answer without needing to be told it. That he knows more than they realize and way more than he's letting on.

"Yes, but—"

"Jeonghan told you it's a fraud and made you check and now you're not sure what to believe," he finishes off. He doesn't acknowledge Woozi as he takes a step back. "Which is exactly what he wanted you to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Hoshi, what are you speaking about?" Woozi hisses softly.

"I'm referring to the fact that Mister Yoon Jeonghan knew precisely who you are the moment you stepped in here, Woozi." He looks to Wonwoo as he proceeds. "You see, the prince's memories have been stolen."

"By whom?"

"Me." He takes a step back as the guard tries to grab for him, a hand lifting in the air to stop him. Wonwoo doesn't move. Despite his attempts to try (which anybody could clearly see), he couldn't seem to move. A sly smirk descends upon Hoshi's face. "Please, Wonwoo, if you would let me explain."

This time, he doesn't turn to Jeonghan for assurance, but to Woozi. Which means he believes what Hoshi is saying. He believes that in some way, Woozi is the prince. Either that or it's the hope that's been creeping into his eyes ever since he saw the mark. It makes him wonder what sort of ruler Yoon Jeonghan was.

Woozi nods his head, and almost immediately, Wonwoo steps back. Another nod gives Hoshi the permission to speak.

"I was following through with strict orders given by the right hand man of the royal bloodline." When they don't say anything, he gestures to Jeonghan who, with a glance his way, is no longer seated in the throne. He's standing, facial expression hinting at his frustration and annoyance. Woozi stares a moment longer before looking back to Hoshi who has continued speaking. "His plan was to get rid of the royal bloodline and take over the throne. He strictly made me promise not to say a word to anyone. So, I told someone."

"Who?"

Somewhere between Hoshi's explanation, Wonwoo disappeared from Woozi's side. Taking a look back, they see him beside Jeonghan, a hand around his arm. He was further from the thrones now, closer to one of the side doors; he was most likely trying to escape.

"I told the queen. She cared not what happened to her, but their only heir, so together, with the king, we devised a plan for the prince's protection." With a hand, he makes a wild gesture to Woozi who stands stock still, disbelieving of everything that's being said. Trying to grasp his head around the idea that he may just be an heir to the throne was more than just a tad difficult.

"With their permission, I took his memories and kept them with me. I sent him with a close friend of mine who left him on a boat and by the time I returned, Jeonghan had already reported the deaths of the king and queen. I confirmed the prince's death."

"So then how?" Woozi's voice is most certainly not his own. Not the way he's been hearing it all this time. With all this information, speaking felt different. Like he wasn't the person he believed himself to be.

"You were supposed to be dead, my highness. As far as the kingdom, the towns and all surrounding cities knew, you died along with your parents. Of course I could not fail the royals and let that happen. With the help of my colleague, I ensured you would be in the course The Drifters were heading so I would find you again. So I could keep you safe from up close."

"You said you were part of their crew," Woozi reminds him, as if he's forgotten the information. Which he hasn't.

"I was. Unlike the others, I had another job. They knew this and didn't mind if I needed to disappear every now and again. I've been part of the crew for a while. Though my heart will always lie with the royals." His eyes are sparkling as he looks at Woozi. "When everyone claimed to hate the bloodline, did I ever say that I did?"

"No." He never did. When they bad mouthed the royal bloodline, he always remained silent. Not once did he ever provide his own opinion. "But then if everyone knew of the deaths—"

"Typically, anyone who stays out at sea such as the crew wouldn't know unless directly told upon hitting land. Though a death like this, people expect you to know. They were never told about the deaths and that is why they complained the way that they did. They hadn't realized another ruler had taken over and made the name for pirates even worse."

With a bow of his head and a hand pressed to his stomach, Hoshi makes a request. "My prince, if I may be given the permission to return your memories to you."

Rather than saying anything, Woozi steps forward. He doesn't want to say anything because as much as he trusted Hoshi, for all he knew this could be a lie. He could end up not being the prince they wished him to be, but then how else would they explain the mark? How else—

A hand touches his head and a bright orb is brought close to his face. So bright he can't keep his eyes open. A soft breeze brushes along his face and for a moment, everything is the same. Only for a moment.

It hits him hard; the change. It's as if he's able to feel the orb being pushed into his skull and the further inside it goes, the more his head hurts and the faster the images flash before his eyes. Memory upon memory floods his brain; he's trembling at the intensity of it all, but then again, that's just what you get when restoring twenty-four years of memories, he supposes. And it's exactly what's been missing. Everything comes back to him.

The hand on his head shifts over to his shoulder, a soft squeeze before Hoshi—Kwon Soonyoung—takes a step back.

"Your highness," Soonyoung says, a smile curving across his face as he turns around to face Wonwoo and Jeonghan, expression reserved. Meeting Wonwoo's expectant eyes, he lifts his right hand and rests it on the left side of his chest.

"I, Lee Jihoon, heir to the throne, will put my people above all else. I will ensure the safety of my people and ensure their needs to come first. I ensure that the city and its people are protected from harm; that as their prince, they are my responsibility and I will do everything in my power that I am able to meet the expectations and not allow a chance of them losing faith in me. Above all else, I am a prince of this city and will see to it that all who have done wrong are rightly prosecuted and all face consequences. I will protect my people, no matter what." He releases a breath he didn't know he was holding, and lowers his arm as he shoots Wonwoo an expectant look of his own. "If that is not enough for you, Jeon Wonwoo"

He bows, cutting Jihoon off completely. "It is more than enough and I apologize for ever questioning you, your highness."

Jihoon nods stiffly before turning his attention to the glaring Jeonghan. "As for you, Yoon Jeonghan, this is your endline."


	32. Chapter 32

When he returns to the prison, Minghao is the first to notice him. Pure relief floods his eyes and in an instant, his expression relaxes. His hands are pale white from the way he gripped the bars and Jihoon has to wonder how long he's been standing that way.

"You're okay," he whispers. It's like nothing else mattered in that moment except Jihoon's safety. Nothing else came remotely close to being as important. Which definitely plays in the reason he doesn't notice the lack of guards around him. He doesn't even notice Soonyoung who tagged along behind him.

"Are you breaking us out?" Dino questions as he watches Soonyoung maneuver with the lock of the gate. A second later, it springs open, but nobody steps out. Whether they've realized it's not a break out or not, they most likely sense that something is different. It's in the air between them; it's in the aura radiating around Jihoon this time.

Before anyone can say another word, Jihoon lowers his body into a half bow. They're all silent, only able to watch in confusion.

"Forgive me, Minghao and The Drifters." As he straightens, there's a look of realization on Dino and Joshua's faces. He remembers Dino admitting his suspicions about Jihoon's identity and how Joshua hadn't lied about knowing who he was. He's not sure if it could be seen in his face or if it was the way he uttered his words just then, but he knows he's proven Dino's suspicions correct. It had been because of the symbol; the crest of the royal bloodline imprinted on his wrist that had him suspecting, which could only mean there was one possibility and nothing more.

As he straightens his posture, he clears his throat. "I ask that you forgive the mistake of you being put in this place at all."

"Woozi, what are you talking about?" Minghao murmurs. He's the first to step out of the cell, but he doesn't take a step closer to Jihoon. The confusion in his face is shifting as it turns into another emotion, but he doesn't have time to linger on it.

"The king and queen have passed on," he informs them, swallowing past the lump in throat. The idea that his parents were dead and he didn't have a chance to say goodbye hurt, sure, but what hurt more was the fact that for the few days that he was with the crew, he had no idea. No idea that his parents were dead and no idea that this was the life he would be returning to.

Not wanting to get caught in his thoughts again, he continues speaking. "As such, the right hand man had taken over as ruler, but now, he will be facing life in prison." He gestures to the cell with a hand. "He will be taking your place, if you will."

"Why?" Scoups asks from beside Dino. He's somewhere near the back of the cell and unlike the others, he appears to want to get out of there more than anything else.

"He has committed treason," comes Jihoon's response. "He was behind the murder of the king and queen. As well as the attempted murder of the prince."

They're all frozen in place. What a way to tell them, he thinks as he watches their faces. He hadn't expected to be telling a group of people he'd spent his time with that he was actually the prince nor about the death of his parents. He didn't expect to be telling them that they will no longer be wanted criminals. The next words to leave his lips are something he definitely never expected to be saying to them.

"The true heir will be taking his rightful place on the throne. Changes will be made." He pauses to take a step back, almost knocking into Soonyoung who squeezes his shoulder and taps his back a second after. "You will no longer be facing the troubles or discrimination you have been facing these all these years. You will no longer have to worry about being wanted criminals."

"And why is that?" Mingyu questions, tilting his head to consider Jihoon.

"Because you are not any of those things. You are heroes." With a brief smile, he murmurs, "I am Lee Jihoon, heir to the throne. I am pleased to have met your acquaintance and I thank you for the time I spent on your ship. For being heroes without so much as realizing it."

*

They've been staying in the palace upon Jihoon's request for the past three days. He wanted them to attend his coronation that was happening today. Suffice to say the treatment he received from the crew was a little different to begin with. However, the fact that nobody was really mad at him was relieving. (According to Vernon, it was preposterous to be mad at someone who had no idea who they were in the first place.) They even appeared unfazed when finding out Soonyoung worked for the palace and insisted he still be part of the crew because it wouldn't be the same without him (to which Jihoon agreed.)

Seungcheol would bow every time they passed each other, but Chan would greet him with a wide smile—they were often roaming the halls together every chance they got. They hardly spoke, but when they did, Seungcheol spoke more formally than necessary (and despite saying this, Seungcheol couldn't seem to adjust) while Chan spoke with very minimal formality. Only when it was required of him.

Vernon kept apologizing every chance he got. About bad mouthing the royal bloodline when he was friends with one of them and about everything else he ever said. Apparently Jihoon had changed his mind on how the royals actually were and somewhere in there, he admitted that he was glad Jihoon would be taking over. Something about being the change they all needed; it brought a smile to his face.

Mingyu still hugged him as if he weren't a prince, which was more than just a little refreshing. He didn't like when they shied away from him just because his position had changed. The only time Mingyu really shied away was if Jihoon happened to walk in when he and the guard, Wonwoo, were flirting. That was when he decided to assign the second guard palace guard position to Jun who happily accepted and who apparently knew him when they were little.

Joshua knew him because he was their weapons maker. Every weapon they needed, they requested from him and he would personally deliver it more often than not, which is how he knew Jihoon in the first place. The delivery he decided to make when joining the crew was, in fact, the new weapons Jeonghan had ordered. Joshua wanted to throw them out or hand them over to someone else, but Jihoon insisted he would keep it. Jeonghan had always made the orders for the weapons required and so, he trusted they would be effective when used.

It was Minghao who constantly shied away. It was hard to find them in the same room and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he hated it. He hated that now that he was known to be a prince and was soon to be king, Minghao couldn't seem to stand him. He somehow expected differently.

That's why it was so surprising when Minghao walked into his room. An hour before the coronation as the nerves were starting to hit, the door creaked open and in walked Minghao in all his glory. The suit hugged him just right; it didn't seem too tight nor too loose. Despite only being a spectator, he appeared as nervous as Jihoon.

"Why is the captain nervous?" he chuckles, leaning toward the mirror as he buttons up the last button of his shirt. When he turns around, there's the unmistakable sound of air being sucked in. His expression is unreadable, but Jihoon thinks the air he breathed in is something like when he first saw Minghao in that suit and completely froze up. He literally took his breath away.

"I'm not," he assures. He meets Jihoon's eyes. "Though clearly you are."

Closing the distance between them, Minghao's frame looms over him as his hands lift to his shirt. With nimble fingers, he unbuttons the top button, corners of his lips twitching up into a smile. "You don't have to choke yourself." He gives a quick, light pat against Jihoon's chest. "You look great."

"Thank you, Minghao."

Minghao responds with a brief smile, but he doesn't move. They're still standing inches apart and there's this look on his face that says he wants to say something, but he's holding back. Jihoon is prepared to ask when Minghao leans forward. It's quick and brief, but it feels so much longer than it lasts and maybe it's because Jihoon didn't want it to end. His lips brush lightly as he places a soft kiss on Jihoon's cheek.

His face is flushed as he pulls back, tips of his ears turning one shade redder than his face. When they lock gazes, he knows. He knows without Minghao saying it that it's something he's wanted to do for a while. And Jihoon wants to tell him that it's okay, that he liked it, but before he has a chance, the door pushes open and Jun is peeking in.

"The coronation is about to start."

No more words are exchanged as Minghao takes that as his cue to leave. Jihoon can't stop him because Jun is still there and they need to start moving too.

His heartstrings tug roughly in his chest, which he clutches in an attempt to calm himself down. 


	33. Chapter 33

The ceremony goes well. He's crowned king and the only thing that keeps him stable throughout the coronation is when he sees the crew in the crowd. They're grouped together, unsurprisingly and a lot closer to the back. He almost smiles, but catches himself.

"I thank you all," he starts, eyeing each and every person there. He doesn't recognize half of them, but it's okay. He won't be needing to say names today. At least, not everyone's. "For attending. I would also like to thank the true reason as to how I am up here. To the people who could very well be known as my saviours: Kwon Soonyoung, Xu Minghao, Chwe Hansol, Lee Chan, Kim Mingyu, Choi Seungcheol and Hong Joshua. I owe you my life." With a hand gesturing out to the group, everyone turns to them. "The Drifters." A chorus of applause goes around and Jihoon is still fighting off his smile, even as everyone finishes off and Jihoon tells them to enjoy themselves.

He's meant to stay on the throne for the most part, according to Jun, but he politely declines as he makes his way out onto the balcony. There are a lot less people there. In fact, there's only one.

"Congratulations, King Jihoon." It comes out as a drawl, almost sarcastic in his tone of voice. Matching it up with his expression, he's not sure if Minghao is trying to tease him or whether it was just actually trying it out. Nevertheless, he doesn't like the term being added; it gave off the impression of formality and they were most certainly no longer on those terms. However, if he had to admit, he liked the way his name rolled off Minghao's tongue in that accent of his. It made him feel as if his name itself was pretty.

"You can call me Jihoon," he murmurs, taking up the spot beside Minghao and leaning against the railing. "We are still friends, you know." And he means that. Now, with all his memories back, he can genuinely say that he hasn't really had any friends before. Other than Jun, before he became a guard. This was his first time being able to make friends and not have them shy away because of status. To meet a group of people who, even after they found out who he was, never once thought he got everything handed to him. Something he remembers being told by other kids as a child. He never tried making friends after that. So to have this group of people he could confidently decide are his friends felt surreal.

Minghao hums. "So, what now, Jihoon?" He asks the question they've both been thinking.

"Now you and the others will be allowed to do as you please. You are no longer criminals and doing your express deliveries will no longer be a crime. You are free." He looks down at the word. "You could consider yourselves an honorary delivery ship for the palace, though of course you do your own deliveries as well—"

Minghao cuts his rambling short. "I meant us."

_Oh_. "You will visit more. I will make time."

"You'll make time." Minghao scoffs. "As if it's that easy."

It's not. They both know it won't just be that easy; not with the schedules they both have to uphold. Not to mention that Minghao doesn't always have a set course in mind. It's always go wherever there's a job otherwise proceed with the flow. Having schedules like that will make the plan Jihoon just mentioned more than just a bit hard to keep up with. He still wants to hold onto the hope peeking at him.

"If it is too difficult then I suppose I will have to request express deliveries. Have the people deliver it personally to me."

He turns to Minghao who clearly doesn't expect this response. He looks surprised, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to him. "I look forward to your visits, Xu Minghao."

"Hao." He leans forward. "We're friends after all." He scoffs a moment later, shaking his head. Jihoon catches sight of a smile across his face.

"I can't believe I'm working for the palace." It's funny, considering how much they hated the royal bloodline once upon a time. Jihoon sighs softly, eyes fluttering closed.

"You will get used to it."

"Only because I have a reason to return."

Jihoon's eyes shoot open, head whipping to look at Minghao who is already looking at him and it's him. He's the reason Minghao is referring to. His chest tingles, heart squeezing in his chest.

"As long as you promise me trips with you all," Jihoon murmurs, looking out into the city. He flashes a bright smile that has his eyes disappearing slightly behind his cheeks. He doesn't catch the way Minghao looks, because his attention is no longer there. Now, it's on the city, but not quite the city itself. He's looking in the direction where he would have been able to see the ocean. The longer he stares and the more it's on his mind, it's almost like he's there. Like he can smell the ocean and hear the waves. It brings him a comfort like no other.

"I think I will quite miss the sea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> With that, I bring this book to a close. It has been a pleasure writing this book and to be reaching my goal (which was to finish it before the new year) is an even bigger pleasur
> 
> I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this book, you have no idea, and I am going to miss it. When I first came up with the idea, I was beyond excited. It was the first time I'd ever planned out the ending before having a beginning.
> 
> Being able to see this book through to the end, I am happy. To all of you who have supported this book, I want to thank you immensely. To the commenters, you made my day.
> 
> I want to thank you all for giving this book a chance. I cannot thank you enough.
> 
> All my love to you readers and may I see you again in another fic <3


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